06/08/2025 18:18
Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies has delivered a clear
statement that the team's "priority" with its second seat is to
give Yuki Tsunoda what he needs, rather than make a driver change.
Tsunoda has struggled since replacing Liam Lawson from the Japanese
Grand Prix, and has broken unwanted Red Bull records this season .
The Japanese driver recently endured the worst qualifying run of
any Red Bull driver, but has now taken an even worse record.
Excluding retirements, Tsunoda is the first Red Bull driver to go
seven successive point-less races, adding to what is already a
troubling campaign. Tsunoda has scored just seven of the Milton
Keynes-based outfit's 194 points this season, putting more pressure
on Max Verstappen to challenge the lead places. Some have called
for Red Bull to conduct a second driver change of the year,
although Mekies has ruled that out. "The priority is to give Yuki
what he needs to perform," Mekies told Sky F1 . "That's where, with
regards to the second seat, the priority is. It's what the team is
concentrating on. "They have been trying that for a number of
races. Now we are trying to find ways together to make a further
step." Mekies added: "But, you know, there is no reason why Yuki's
performance cannot be what we have seen in the past. That's what we
are concentrating on right now." Tsunoda's recent progress Despite
poor finishing results, Tsunoda has made progress in the last two
races after receiving a new floor in the Belgian Grand Prix. His
lap time deficit to Verstappen has significantly reduced across
Belgium and Hungary, to the extent that he was just over one-tenth
of a second slower than his team-mate at the Hungaroring. Asked if
he was responsible for Tsunoda receiving the new floor in the
Belgian GP, Mekies insisted: "No, no, absolutely not. It's a team
decision. "All the team is trying to give Yuki the right confidence
and the right tools, and he is working very well with this group.
"You need that string of good feelings with a car, a good
qualifying, and a good race to perhaps extract the next steps. And
that's where we're trying to get to."
