Yuki Tsunoda has admitted that he feels “a lot of pressure” amid another weekend without points in Canada, with the Japanese driver still in the process of adapting to the Red Bull following his switch to the squad earlier in the season.
Tsunoda’s prospects for race day took a hit on Saturday when he was handed a 10-place grid penalty for overtaking McLaren’s Oscar Piastri under red flag conditions in Free Practice 3, meaning that – after qualifying in 11th – he would start from the back of the field.
The 25-year-old ran a long opening stint on the hard tyre before switching to the mediums – and while he made gains from his original starting slot, Tsunoda ultimately ended the race in P12, meaning that he has gone without points for the last three races.
Asked if the result had been the maximum that was possible from where he started – particularly given the traffic that he faced at times – Tsunoda conceded: “Yeah, pretty much, that’s it.
“The pace was okay, not amazing but still not too bad. Other than that, pretty much that’s it really. At least [a] positive is the car performance now, and the pace in the car felt a bit more normal or better than last previous races, so at least there’s a bit of motivation there.”
Since moving to Red Bull from Racing Bulls at the third race weekend of the season in Japan – as part of a driver swap with Liam Lawson – Tsunoda has been open about the challenge of getting to grips with the RB21, having at one point compared it to “a science room”.
While there have been positive moments during this process – with points coming in Bahrain, Miami and Imola – Tsunoda acknowledged in Montreal that it also brings pressure, though admitted that he hopes to use this as an opportunity to prove himself.
“[Saturday] was a tough day with the 10-place nonsense penalty,” the Red Bull driver said. “[I] lost a lot of time in FP3, especially with the new upgrades when you want to especially learn about the car.
“Still with our team, you want to be as high as possible, but I enjoy this challenge I guess. [In] these moments I’m having a lot of pressure, sometimes I’m not enjoying them that much but it’s part of the time that [is] an opportunity to improve myself and prove myself more.”
Tsunoda will be hoping for better when F1 heads to the Red Bull Ring for his team’s home event, the Austrian Grand Prix, on June 27-29.
