Red Bull driver program boss Helmut Marko has waxed lyrical about Hiroki Tsunoda’s performance in his home country, continuing his case for RB driver to earn promotion to Red Bull.
Few believed that Tsunoda could be considered for a seat at Red Bull heading into his fourth F1 season with a junior team in 2024, but the Japanese racer has been in contention for the opening four races. Tsunoda has scored all of the goals. RB’s 7 points so far.
Hiroki Tsunoda matches Max Verstappen in Japanese GP performance
After eight-time race winner Daniel Ricciardo was confirmed as his F1 teammate for 2024, few expected Tsunoda to win the battle within the team with Ricciardo aiming to return to Red Bull in 2025. , Tsunoda lost to his award-winning teammates. This has continued at Suzuka, with Tsunoda breaking into the top 10 and delighting the home fans.
And Marko was certainly impressed, with Tsunoda’s performance surpassing that of Red Bull’s Japanese Grand Prix winner and three-time World Champion Max Verstappen, as well as Fernando Alonso, who rose from fifth on the grid to sixth in the race. He claimed it was “comparable.” Aston Martin ranks in the top five for his career performance.
“Yuki escaped sensationally well on his second start,” Marko wrote in his Speedweek column, which was sparked by a collision between Ricciardo and Alex Albon on the opening lap.
“His overtaking maneuver was the show of the day. The fans were a complete delight.
“His weekend was on par with the likes of Max and Alonso. A great performance, perfect under the pressure of his home race.”
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Red Bull now finds themselves with extravagant problems regarding their 2025 driver plans. While Tsunoda has shown flashes of brilliance and reserve driver Liam Lawson has looked to fill the gap, Verstappen’s current teammate Sergio Perez is also in great form and is scoring well. Participated in three Red Bull 1-2 finishes out of four races.
Marko described this as Perez’s “best season for us” to date.
Talent outside Red Bull’s program, such as Alonso and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, could also join the team, but Marko said no decision would be made in the near future as Red Bull would not be in the “game” of the driver market. Belief is happening.
He said: “I think the fact that transfer rumors are already boiling over at the beginning of April is due to several factors. First, [Lewis] Hamilton announced his move to Ferrari so early.
“If I can trust the Radio Paddock, Audi want a quick decision on Carlos Sainz. Aston Martin is also putting pressure on from different directions.
“We will not be taking part in these games. We will not hear from Red Bull Racing until mid-season as to what the personnel situation is.”
Neither Ricciardo nor Tsunoda are currently under contract for the 2025 season.
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