Christian Horner Comments on Yuki Tsunoda’s Performance Following Japanese Grand Prix

After a challenging weekend at the Japanese Grand Prix, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner remains optimistic about Yuki Tsunoda’s pace. Despite finishing 12th in his home race after starting 15th, Horner believes that Tsunoda’s speed will shine through in the upcoming races.

Tsunoda’s Race Performance

A mistake in Q2 relegated Tsunoda to a less favorable starting position for the race. The challenging track conditions made overtaking difficult, but Tsunoda managed to pass Liam Lawson and later Pierre Gasly with a well-timed undercut. He spent most of the race trailing Fernando Alonso, whom he was unable to mount a serious attack on.

Despite these challenges, Horner praised Tsunoda’s performance, stating, “I think Yuki had a solid race today, and I think that 90% of the field finished where they qualified.” He added, “Yuki passed one car, we undercut one car, he followed Fernando Alonso for 90% of the race.

Tsunoda himself acknowledged the difficulties he faced during the race. “I was expecting if, for example, tyre degradation is massive, it could be a really good situation, but degradation was even zero,” he said after the race. He also admitted that a rear wing setup optimized for high downforce may have hindered his overtaking performance due to increased drag on the straights.

Red Bull Advisor’s Verdict on Tsunoda’s Performance

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko offered his assessment of Tsunoda’s performance, saying, “It was good. It was just unlucky that in Qualifying 2 he had this mistake. But otherwise it was fine.” He acknowledged the difficulties Tsunoda faced due to his starting position and the challenging track conditions.