29/06/2025 06:30
Yuki Tsunoda has explained how he is "not at the level" where he
can adjust to sudden changes from the Red Bull, unlike team-mate
Max Verstappen. Tsunoda was only 0.263s slower than Verstappen in
Q1 at the Austrian Grand Prix, but whilst the world champion was
safely through, Tsunoda was eliminated in Q1. It is the third
successive race he has fallen in Q1, and fourth time in five races,
he has done so, with the Japanese driver explaining how a sudden
and unexpected shift in the balance from the RB21 had caught him
off guard, with Verstappen also claiming the car was "undriveable"
in Q2. "It is very frustrating, I was just not able to properly
adjust on the second push lap, the first one felt good, and there
is obviously always a perfect lap, so I could have done better, but
the balance felt completely different between the first and second
push laps," Tsunoda told media including RacingNews365. "I'm just
not able to put it all together in qualifying, it is not all the
time, but I am just not able to execute properly in qualifying for
several reasons, which is frustrating. "I was expecting to be in
Q3, the car felt good and the first push lap felt good, but
somehow, with this stage that I am in, I'm happy with the
confidence and I'm sure I'm heading in the right direction, but
with this very narrow window with the car, you just have to be as
consistent as possible. "Max was reporting the same in Q2, but at
least he knows this car, how to handle it, and even with the
surprises, he can adapt within the lap. "But I am not at the level
where I can adjust fully in the lap or maximise the package, and it
is not the level I was at with VCARB." When then pushed by
RacingNews365, Tsunoda confirmed that the RB21 has the narrowest
operating window of any car he has driven, adding that: "I would
say it is a difficult car, but it is not undriveable."
