Former F1 driver and Sky F1 consultant Anthony Davidson is at a loss to understand why RB’s Yuki Tsunoda is overlooked for a promotion at Red Bull “every single time”.
Tsunoda made his F1 debut with AlphaTauri in 2021, scoring a top ten finish in his first ever Grand Prix, in Bahrain.
While the young Japanese charger’s first year among motorsport’s elite was marked by a lack of consistency while several costly crashes put him on shacky ground.
However, progress ensued over the following the following seasons during which Tsunoda dominated his successive teammates, Nyck de Vries and Daniel Ricciardo.
This summer, the 24-year-old received a contract extension with RB, but Red Bull remains hesitant to pair him alongside championship leader Max Verstappen.
Even when rumors were in full swing during F1’s summer break regarding Sergio Perez’s seemingly precarious situation at Red Bull, Ricciardo and even reserve driver Liam Lawson were touted as the Mexican driver’s most probable potential substitutes.
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Speaking on the latest episode of the Sky Sports F1 podcast, Davidson admitted to struggling to understand why Tsunoda always seems to be the odd man out in Red Bull’s driver plans.
“They’re looking for that magic,” commented the former SuperAguri F1 driver.
“Maybe, Daniel once upon a time would have been able to deliver that. Perhaps, he would have been ahead of Yuki, firmly ahead but I think Yuki has upped his game since his arrival in Formula 1.
©RB
“It’s quite normal you see drivers arrive, they overdrive the car, crash and they spin. You’re waiting for it to all calm down a bit and then they do, but then they’re slow because they’ve lost their rhythm.
“Yuki has been through that journey and he’s not that driver anymore that some may think back to. He’s pretty polished, he’s the finished article now.
“Poor old Yuki is still getting tarred with that same brush. I am not sure it’s not that easy anymore for anyone to do that against Tsunoda. How does he feel about all this? He’s been overlooked every single time.
“These drivers come in - Lawson or Ricciardo comes back as an older experienced driver. Nyck de Vries has a go against him as well - and he keeps beating them, every single time. It can’t just be a coincidence.”
©RedBull
Going up against Max Verstappen is a big challenge for any driver, especially mentally as Ricciardo, Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon experienced in the past.
But Davidson reckons that Tsunoda would have the resilience and fortitude to race alongside Verstappen.
“Why isn’t he given the chance?” questioned Davidson. “Why aren’t we hearing about Yuki’s chance to replace Perez?
“Would he do a better job? He’s a feisty driver. I can’t imagine he’d be mentally destroyed by Max. He’s a resilient character. I think that’s what Ricciardo was up against and without anyone really highlighting this.”
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