Yuki Tsunoda faced challenges during the initial practice sessions of the Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix, struggling to match the pace of the rest of the grid, including his Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen. The Japanese driver completed his runs in ninth place during FP1 and dropped to 13th in FP2, prompting questions about the reasons behind his pace deficit.
Performance Difficulties Mark Tsunoda’s Friday on Track
Tsunoda described his Friday as “tricky,” acknowledging some progress from the first to the second practice but expressing uncertainty about what was limiting his speed. He noted that while his lap times had improved, the gap to Verstappen remained larger than expected on both sessions.
In terms of first day compared to other days [at] other Grands Prix, it felt pretty smooth for myself. I think I made progress, obviously, from FP1 to FP2,
Tsunoda said on the official F1 channel.
I just don’t have any idea why I am slow. To be honest the lap was pretty good as well considering [it’s] FP2 and obviously it’s not fully 100%. But it’s obviously not the gap that I’m expecting, at least.
Despite feeling the balance was adequate, Tsunoda admitted to still struggling to pinpoint the exact limitation affecting his performance. He revealed that his times were significantly slower compared to Verstappen’s, trailing by over half a second in each session.
Analyzing the Gap to Teammate Max Verstappen
Tsunoda’s deficit amounted to 0.558 seconds behind Verstappen in the first session and 0.613 seconds in the second. While mistakes often explain time losses, Tsunoda was clear that was not the case during these runs.
It’s not like I had a massive mistake and I’m being behind compared to competitors quite a lot [due to a mistake]. If I had a mistake, with that result, I’m happy, actually. But it’s not like that.
The driver expressed hope that solutions would emerge during the team’s debriefing later in the evening, emphasizing the challenge this posed ahead of qualifying.
Hopefully we can find something [in tonight’s debriefing session] otherwise it’s really tough, honestly,
Tsunoda commented.
Probably it will be a longer night than usual, but obviously there’s a curfew and everything. I’ll try my best to find the solution, but yeah currently it’s not really clear.
Red Bull’s Challenge to Improve Tsunoda’s Weekend Prospects
Red Bull has generally been effective at extracting performance improvements after Friday sessions throughout the season, but Tsunoda’s situation could require a more significant breakthrough to elevate his position on the timing sheets in qualifying. The team and driver must identify the cause of the consistent pace shortfall quickly to maximize their Spanish Grand Prix weekend.
