Yuki Tsunoda found himself struggling with pace during the first day of running in Barcelona, unable to explain why his Red Bull was slower than expected. Despite completing practice sessions in P9 and P13, the Japanese driver said he has no clear understanding of the issues affecting his speed, leaving him frustrated and anxious ahead of the weekend’s races.
While teammate Max Verstappen secured positions within the top three in both sessions, Tsunoda fell behind much of the field. He expressed a wish that a clear error was causing the deficit because at least that would offer a direction for improvement.
Uncertainty Clouds Tsunoda’s Performance as He Seeks Answers
Since joining Red Bull, Tsunoda has faced a difficult adjustment period, raising speculation about his future with the team. After eight races, he had gathered just 10 points and was visibly unsettled by his inability to pinpoint the cause of his current struggles.
Describing the Friday sessions as “tricky,” Tsunoda noted he felt relatively smooth during the two practice runs and had even made some progress from FP1 to FP2. Nonetheless, his lap times did not match his expectations, and the gap to rivals was puzzling.
“So it’s hard to even tell what kind of exact limitation I have in terms of balance,”
Tsunoda confessed, highlighting the difficulty in diagnosing the problem when no significant errors were made during his laps.
Seeking Solutions Amid a Frustrating Night Ahead
Tsunoda acknowledged he had not committed a “massive mistake,” which made his pace issue even more confounding. Rather than being able to attribute the slower times to driver error, he confronted a vague and unclear performance shortfall.
“Hopefully we can find something otherwise it’s very tough,”
the 25-year-old said, expressing the pressure to uncover what is holding him back. He admitted that without a clear mistake, it was harder to identify the source of his troubles.
He also anticipated spending a longer night analyzing data despite the restrictions imposed by curfews, emphasizing his commitment to resolving the issues.
“So probably will be a longer night than usual. Obviously, there’s a curfew and everything and I try my best to find the solution. But currently, it’s not really clear,”
Tsunoda added.
Implications for Tsunoda’s Future and the Barcelona Weekend
Yuki Tsunoda’s struggles in Barcelona underline the hurdles the driver faces in adapting to his current circumstances within Red Bull. His difficulties in finding speed have led to questions about his consistency and potential tenure with the team. How Tsunoda and the engineers address these challenges will be crucial for his performance over the remainder of the season.
With the next sessions and qualifying poised to reveal whether improvements can be made, the weekend in Barcelona may be pivotal for Tsunoda’s momentum in Formula 1. The driver’s determination to dig deeper into the issues offers some hope, but the uncertainty surrounding his pace signals a tense and restless period ahead.
