Red Bull’s Helmut Marko has expressed optimism about Yuki Tsunoda’s development, noting a positive trend in the Japanese driver’s performance despite a challenging 2025 Formula 1 season.
Tsunoda, who was promoted to Red Bull’s senior team ahead of last April’s Japanese Grand Prix, has struggled to adapt to the demanding RB21 car, mirroring the difficulties faced by his predecessor, Liam Lawson.
However, Marko believes Tsunoda is showing signs of improvement, particularly highlighted by his performance at the British Grand Prix, and the team is hopeful that upcoming upgrades at the Belgian Grand Prix will translate this progress into points.
Tsunoda’s Challenging Transition
Since replacing Lawson at Red Bull Racing after just two races, Tsunoda has faced significant hurdles in matching the pace of his teammate, four-time World Champion Max Verstappen.
The 25-year-old has scored only seven points in nine Grands Prix, placing him 17th in the Drivers’ Championship. His struggles were particularly evident at last month’s Austrian Grand Prix, where he qualified 18th and finished last after a collision-filled race, earning a 10-second penalty for an incident with Alpine’s Franco Colapinto.
©RedBull
Despite these setbacks, Marko remains encouraged by Tsunoda’s recent performances.
“Yuki has struggled on some GP weekends, but we already saw an upward trend in England: the gap to Max was smaller than before in most of the free practice sessions, and he was able to start from eleventh place on the grid in England,” the Austrian wrote in his most recent column for Speedweek.
This improvement in qualifying pace, particularly at Silverstone, where Tsunoda was just over six-tenths slower than Verstappen in practice, signals potential for the Japanese driver to turn his season around.
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“We've had intensive discussions with Yuki; he also works with sports psychologists,” added Marko.
“Unfortunately, like Max, he had no chance in the race with this [low downforce] wing. But we're noticing an improvement in performance, and we're optimistic that this will soon be reflected in the points.”
Spa Upgrades Offer Hope
As Tsunoda looks ahead to next week’s Belgian Grand Prix, he will do so with cautious optimism. Red Bull is set to provide him with long-awaited upgrades to his RB21 car, potentially putting him on a more even technical footing with teammate Max Verstappen.
“At least I’m going to have upgrades next weekend,” Tsunoda told reporters, quoted by RacingNews365.
“Currently, I’m two steps behind in terms of the package compared to Max, so that will for sure help for the next race.”
However, next week’s round at Spa-Francorchamps is a sprint weekend, meaning Tsunoda and the rest of the field will have only a single practice session on Friday before entering competitive action – a challenge for any driver, but particularly one trying to get acclimated to a new package.
“At the same time, it’s going to be a sprint weekend,” the Japanese charger acknowledged. “So the only time I can adjust with the floor will be [during] one free practice, but I’ll do my best.”
With Marko’s backing and the team’s commitment to his development, Tsunoda has a critical opportunity to prove he can overcome the challenges of the RB21 and secure his place at Red Bull beyond 2025.
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