28/08/2025
NEWS STORY
Yuki Tsunoda claims that it is only in the last two outings that Red Bull has come to appreciate the difference between its two drivers' cars.
At a time Sergio Perez is effectively telling everyone 'I told you so' in terms of the difference between the car given to Max Verstappen and that to his various teammates, Tsunoda insists that his performances in Belgium and Hungary caused the Austrian team to see the light.
It was only at those two events that the Japanese driver had the same upgrades as his illustrious teammate, and though he hardly set the world alight there was an improvement.
"Yeah, definitely I have to show more," admitted Tsunoda in terms of his performance since replacing Liam Lawson. "But actually, the last two races before summer break, that helped a little bit," he added.
"Probably they didn't recognise that much, especially Helmut, that the difference between me and Max in terms of the package differences. And as soon as they introduced that, my pace suddenly much improved.
"In Hungary, the difference between me and Max was very small since practice," he continued. "And that shows that actually maybe has some potential.
"So I think I just keep what I'm doing, but also at the same time, I still have to put it all together throughout the weekend, you can't just probably rely on the race. I need to score points. That's why I was preparing for it in this summer break and just need to score points as much as possible.
"In terms of time, we kind of agreed what kind of time we are looking for to me to show the good performance, in order to let them decide what kind of contract they want for next year," he admitted. "But, let's see.
"Maybe Helmut's thinking in the background," he replied, when asked if he might b e heading back to RB. "I never know what he's thinking, to be honest.
"For now, I understand he's looking for me to show the performance. I think last two races, actually, like I said, after I got upgrades, there's some recognition from that performance. Actually, there's a huge difference before that. And I think that helps him and myself to give a bit more time to see how this situation evolves.
"I think he supported me quite a lot, but obviously, he's also quite a straightforward guy. He's here for the team and he wants to have points as much as possible. So, I need to perform for sure.
"But if I understand it correctly, he's still waiting a bit of time to define what's good for Red Bull. And I think let's see for Racing Bulls or whatever.
"They're performing currently quite well," he said of his old team. "And it's a team that I have been for a long time. So, obviously, my main goal is to still stick with Red Bull. But, let's see."