Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has commended Yuki Tsunoda’s weekend at Formula 1’s Japanese Grand Prix, branding it as a Max Verstappen-esque performance.
Tsunoda excelled at his home venue as he out-qualified his more experienced team-mate Daniel Ricciardo for the fourth straight round to book his passage into Q3.
Starting 10th, Tsunoda outpaced Lance Stroll, who had been a shock elimination in Q1, in the more fancied Aston Martin car to claim the final points place at Suzuka.
Despite losing places at the initial start, a red flag for a crash involving the sister car enabled Tsunoda to strap on the Soft compound and regain those vital positions.
Marko has lavished praise on Tsunoda’s outing and believes that it was of the same calibre produced each weekend by the likes of Verstappen and Fernando Alonso.
“At the second start, Yuki did sensationally well,” Marko told Red Bull-owned publication Speed Week. “His overtaking manoeuvres were the show of the day.
“The fans were completely over the moon. His weekend was at the level of Max, Alonso and co. Flawless, a great performance under the pressure of his home race.”
Tsunoda has expressed that his ultimate ambition is to secure a promotion to Red Bull, but Marko also complimented Sergio Perez for his strong beginning to 2024.
The Mexican driver, whose contract expires at the end of this term, has delivered three second-place finishes in the opening four races to sit second in the standings.
“Checo was also very solid,” said Marko. “He was unlucky at the pit stop, but he got himself back into the game with a great manoeuvre against [Lewis] Hamilton in the [130R] corner.
“He’s definitely having his best season with us so far.”
Perez had commented post-race that he expects his future to be finalised within the next month, but Marko has stated that Red Bull will take longer to make a decision.
The Austrian believes that Audi’s presence in the driver market ahead of the Sauber takeover has contributed to the earlier-than-usual speculation emanating this season.
“In my opinion, the fact that the transfer rumour mill is already cooking like this at the beginning of April is due to several factors,” he said. “First: Hamilton announced his move to Ferrari so early. And if ‘radio paddock’ is to be trusted, Audi wants a decision from Carlos Sainz very soon. Aston Martin is also putting pressure in several directions.
“We do not take part in these games. We won’t hear from Red Bull Racing until the middle of the season about what’s going on in terms of personnel.”
