The Canadian GP marked the third consecutive race for Yuki Tsunoda, where he failed to score any points. While it was the debilitating 10-place grid penalty that snatched any chance the Japanese driver had at points, there is another approach that team principal Christian Horner has suggested Tsunoda adopt.
In his eight races with Red Bull, Tsunoda has only managed to score seven points. The last time he scored a point was at Imola with a P10 finish. The following disappointing P17 and P13 finishes in Monaco and Spain, respectively, put him under immense pressure to end the poor run at the Canadian GP.
Unfortunately, Tsunoda once again missed out on Q3, this time by just 0.099s. Normally, that would have given him the confidence to start the race with expectations of scoring points. However, a 10-place grid penalty for red flag infringement during FP3 sent him to the back of the grid.
Tsunoda started the race in P18 as Pierre Gasly and Isack Hadjar started from the pit lane for use of additional power unit components. The advantage did not prove to be of much help as the #22 driver only managed a P12 finish despite a masterful one-stop race.
That alone was an impressive feat in Horner‘s eyes, who rued the 10-place penalty for robbing his driver of any chance at scoring points.
“I thought his race was actually… To do a one-stop on that tyre. And once you’ve gone through the graining, the tyre’s cleaned up again. I thought he actually did a decent job. You can see how hard overtaking is here,” said Horner during a print media session after the F1 Canadian GP.
“So, actually, I thought Yuki, he should have taken some confidence out of it. If he’d have started in his normal grid position and he’d qualified, he would have scored points today.”
Horner calls for consistency after Yuki Tsunoda’s 10-place grid penalty at Canadian GP
The Canadian GP ended behind the safety car with George Russell leading the pack. After Lando Norris crashed on Lap 67, trying to overtake teammate Oscar Piastri, the running order remained intact until the chequered flag.
Under normal conditions, cars are allowed to overtake each other after crossing the finish line. However, with the safety car signal still flashing, the drivers were required to return to the parc ferme in their running order.
The stewards noted as many as seven drivers to be in infringement. Naturally, Horner called for a consistent penalty, equating the incident to the one that got Tsunoda a 10-place grid penalty earlier.
“Well, again, it’ll be interesting to come out about the penalty or about what was noted at the end of the race. Because Yuki obviously got nailed yesterday for making an overtake,” explained Horner.
“And there’s a few cars that have overtaken when there were marshals on track. So, one would expect some form of consistency again there.”
To the Red Bull boss’s disappointment, the stewards let them get away with a warning. The seven transgressing drivers could, however, face harsher penalties in the future over repeated offense.
Horner advises Tsunoda to avoid adopting Verstappen’s set-up
Max Verstappen, like many other drivers, prefers a car with oversteer. The only difference between him and the other oversteer enthusiasts is his ability to tame the car, which takes this ability to the extreme.
Given his success with such a set-up, Red Bull tends to design its cars more to Verstappen’s liking. This has, however, proven to be counterproductive for the Dutchman’s teammates over the years. Tsunoda is another name in that long list of Verstappen’s teammates.
Clearly, the Japanese driver needs to do something different to avoid meeting the fate that Verstappen’s earlier teammates suffered. According to Horner, the key lies in Tsunoda finding his own set-up, rather than copying his four-time champion teammate’s. That, Horner reveals, Tsunoda has already tried at the Canadian GP and has found some progress.
“I think just trying to avoid what other drivers have gone down the road of trying to adopt Max’s set-up is to go his own route and work on what suits his style and his needs. And I think they’ve made some progress on that this weekend,” said Horner.
Patience is not a virtue that the Red Bull top brass is known to possess. Time is running out for Tsunoda, even if the team does not explicitly admit it. Actions like getting a super license for a 17-year-old Arvid Lindblad, however, clears the intention. Lindblad has already tested with a camouflaged 2023 AlphaTauri and is set to appear in an FP1 this year.
