Austrian GP
Helmut Marko Reveals What’s Really Holding Back Yuki Tsunoda at Red Bull
As Formula 1 fans reel from another disappointing performance by Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull’s outspoken advisor, Dr. Helmut Marko, has finally shed light on the reasons behind the young driver’s struggles. According to Marko, it’s not just about talent—it’s about the RB21’s painfully narrow working window, which is causing serious issues for anyone not named Max Verstappen.
Yuki Tsunoda, who started 18th on the grid for the Austrian Grand Prix, finished a dismal P16, extending his streak of finishing outside the points to four consecutive races. In stark contrast, teammate Max Verstappen continues to extract the most out of the difficult RB21—even if a Lap 1 incident with Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli took him out of contention this time.
Helmut Marko was blunt in his analysis: “With the changing conditions, Yuki just has a much harder time adapting. Max can drive over that. Our car has too narrow a working window—it’s always a tightrope walk between going off and barely keeping it together.”
The statement highlights a growing concern: while Max Verstappen can muscle the car into contention, Yuki Tsunoda is consistently outclassed, not just by his teammate but also by rivals in more forgiving machinery, such as McLaren.
Yuki Tsunoda himself appeared increasingly frustrated after the race: “I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong, to be honest… it’s really, really hard to find the reason for what I’m doing so wrong to drive this slow.”
He also received a 10-second penalty and two penalty points for a collision with Alpine’s Franco Colapinto, and was later investigated for forcing Lance Stroll off the track.
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The issue, according to Helmut Marko, Yuki Tsunoda is a victim of RB21’s lack of the kind of feedback and self-correction present in cars like the McLaren “When McLaren slides, the car corrects itself easily. With us, it’s brutal—any mistake, and you’re off the limit.”
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That fragility is precisely what seems to be plaguing Yuki Tsunoda. The Japanese driver admitted his second push lap in qualifying felt “completely different” from the first, surprising and unsettling him mid-session.
With the British Grand Prix just days away, Tsunoda says he’ll be digging deep to find answers: “If I can take something Max is doing differently, I’ll try. I’ll try everything, from left to right.”
But as Red Bull’s RB21 continues to favor the experienced Max Verstappen and punish inconsistency, Yuki Tsunoda’s Formula 1 future may now depend on his ability to quickly adapt—or risk being left behind in the sport’s unforgiving mid-season shuffle.
