Yuki Tsunoda delivered his best result as a Red Bull driver at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix last weekend. If he can maintain this form, his chances of staying on the F1 grid will improve significantly.<\/p>\n
Prior to Baku, Tsunoda<\/a> hadn\u2019t finished higher than ninth in a Grand Prix since stepping up to Red Bull in April. But he qualified on the front three rows for the first time and then held onto his P6 in the race despite coming under late pressure from Lando Norris.<\/p>\n The result only gains Tsunoda two spots in the standings (he moves from 19th to 17th), but this was perhaps his first comprehensive and convincing performance in Red Bull<\/a> colours. There will still be caution at this stage, particularly as Sergio Perez anomalously outpaced Max Verstappen at the same race last year.<\/p>\n Still, he\u2019s sure to be encouraged by the second-best result of his F1 career (after fourth after the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP). And a report from The Race<\/a> suggests that he\u2019s \u2018unlocked something\u2019 in the car.<\/p>\n Yuki Tsunoda finally addresses Franz Tost\u2019s work ethic criticism<\/p>\n Just before the summer break, after a grim 17th-place finish at the Hungarian GP, Tsunoda informed Laurent Mekies that he was cancelling his summer holiday in Japan. He rerouted to Red Bull\u2019s Milton Keynes factory to carry out some investigations in the simulator.<\/p>\n Tsunoda is now \u2018convinced\u2019 that the only way to escape his crisis at Red Bull is to \u2018knuckle down and keep working\u2019. The car is widely thought to be difficult to drive, but he doesn\u2019t want to use that as an excuse.<\/p>\n The 25-year-old asked for extra simulator sessions and feels he made a breakthrough back at base after the Italian GP. Tsunoda had shown promise by scoring points at Zandvoort and reaching Q3 at Monza, but he finally combined single-lap and high-fuel pace in Baku.<\/p>\n Significantly, this comes after Franz Tost criticised Tsunoda\u2019s attitude<\/a> in a recent interview. He said he\u2019d been telling him to work harder ever since his debut for AlphaTauri in 2021.<\/p>\n Tost said: \u201cI\u2019ve always told him: Yuki, in Formula 1 you have to work. If I\u2019m five-tenths to one second slower than my teammate, then I\u2019ll stay in the paddock day and night or study the data until I know why I\u2019m slower.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd that\u2019s where we still have to get Yuki to. He\u2019s talented, but unfortunately, he\u2019s not eager enough, not hardworking enough to compensate for this shortcoming.\u201d<\/p>\n Liam Lawson has also faced questions over his attitude<\/p>\n Whether or not Tsunoda was aware of Tost\u2019s comments, he\u2019s clearly become more dedicated in recent weeks. It\u2019s likely to be too late to save his Red Bull seat.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a growing expectation that Isack Hadjar will be Max Verstappen\u2019s teammate<\/a> in 2026. That leaves Tsunoda battling Liam Lawson for a spot at Racing Bulls<\/a>, with the other seat marked out for F2 prospect Arvid Lindblad.<\/p>\n