Tsunoda, who is facing challenges, is 'not a pancake' - Verstappen

      Max Verstappen has come to the defense of his teammate Yuki Tsunoda, instead directing criticism toward Red Bull. After assessing that the performance gap between Verstappen and Sergio Perez was too significant and persistent last year, Red Bull promoted Liam Lawson to a seat for 2025, but he was replaced after only two races. Now, Tsunoda finds himself at the bottom of the Barcelona grid in his seventh event wearing the navy blue overalls.

      "On Friday, Tsunoda was relatively close to Max," stated team advisor Dr. Helmut Marko. "Being in last place certainly raises questions, even if Yuki isn't using the latest car specifications. The floor differs from Max's, along with some other components. However, he did crash out at Imola! We face challenges with spare parts. Yet, it seems that Yuki is unable to improve during qualifying," the Austrian remarked. "His results are disappointing. We'll have to analyze everything."

      Some believe Red Bull keeps making the same error with the driver sitting next to Verstappen, aiming to appoint someone clearly as a 'number 2.' "I did talk to Red Bull," Carlos Sainz acknowledged during the El Cafelito program before the Barcelona race weekend, referring to his discussions from last year before signing with Williams. "They didn’t want me, for whatever reason. We couldn’t come to an agreement," the former Ferrari driver noted. He suggested that Red Bull explicitly lays out the 'number 2' terms in writing. "I don't discuss contractual matters with anyone," Sainz asserts. "I think anyone familiar with Formula 1 understands why Red Bull didn’t want me."

      Regarding Verstappen's perspective, he believes that the issues faced last year by Perez, Lawson, and now Tsunoda reflect more of a car issue than a driver one. "He’s not a push-over, is he?" Verstappen remarked to De Telegraaf when inquired about Tsunoda’s difficulties. "He has demonstrated his speed in the past. He was often quicker than Lawson, right? So this likely says a lot about the car. What does it imply? You can interpret that for yourself."

      The frontrunner to succeed Tsunoda appears to be the promising Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar. "Not just one, but ten psychiatrists," quipped Dutch racing figure Tom Coronel when asked what Hadjar would require if he is elevated to become Verstappen’s next teammate. "Please don’t keep putting this pressure on the rookies," Coronel urged Red Bull through Viaplay. "We've seen it too frequently now. It often leads to the end of their careers."