Yuki Tsunoda under fire: Christian Horner questions performance after Red Bull Ring disaster. Christian Horner criticizes Yuki Tsunoda after a disastrous Austrian GP.

Yuki Tsunoda in deep crisis
Yuki Tsunoda, the Japanese Formula 1 driver currently racing for RB (Visa Cash App RB), experienced another highly disappointing weekend in Spielberg. During the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring, Tsunoda was eliminated in Q1 during Saturday’s qualifying session — the third time he has failed to progress past the first segment of qualifying in the last five race weekends. To make matters worse, he received a time penalty during the Grand Prix for a collision with Franco Colapinto, the young Williams stand-in who was making his F1 debut.

Tsunoda crossed the finish line in last place, two laps down on race leader Lando Norris in the McLaren MCL39. Even more telling, he was lapped by both of the Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber cars — currently regarded as the slowest team on the 2024 Formula 1 grid.

The Japanese driver has become the latest example of what many call the “second Red Bull seat curse” — a longstanding issue in which no teammate of reigning world champion Max Verstappen seems capable of matching his performance. However, the case of Yuki Tsunoda appears even more concerning than previous examples. While the second seat at Red Bull Racing has historically been challenging, Tsunoda’s performances with the RB21 have fallen below even those expectations. In the 2024 season so far, he has never finished higher than eighth place in a Grand Prix and has failed to score any points since the race at Imola.

Christian Horner’s assessment of Tsunoda’s performance
Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner did not hold back when commenting on Yuki Tsunoda’s performance in Austria. While acknowledging that the car might not be the easiest to drive, Christian Horner was clear in stating that the issues go beyond just the RB21’s handling characteristics.

Christian Horner stated, “Obviously, starting from eighteenth on the grid is never going to be easy, and receiving a penalty makes it even harder. But for Yuki Tsunoda, this was a horrible and frustrating race.”

Horner added that being consistently at the back of the field undermines a driver’s confidence. “When you’re always at the back of the grid, it becomes very difficult to build trust in the car and confidence in your own abilities. We will work closely with Yuki Tsunoda to try to help him reset and improve his approach going forward.”

However, Horner also emphasized that the driver must take responsibility. “The car has evolved over the years based on the development direction we’ve chosen. It’s not an easy car to drive — no Formula 1 car is — but it’s also not that difficult. At some point, Yuki needs to wake up and respond.”

The comments underscore a growing sense of urgency within the Red Bull system to see a marked improvement from Tsunoda, whose current form is far below what is required to secure a potential promotion to the main Red Bull Racing team — or even retain his current seat long-term.