In a second Red Bull car that often looks like a poisoned chalice, Tsunoda has always struggled to match four-time world champion Max Verstappen<\/a>. The Japanese is down 21-0 in their qualifying head-to-head, and has scored just 25 points in 18 grands prix with the team \u2013 Verstappen has 285 to his name in that period.<\/p>\n At Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Tsunoda failed to reach Q3 for the 15th time in 21 qualifying sessions (sprint included), but his deficit to Verstappen was the second-smallest over that period \u2013 0.211s in Q2.<\/p>\n Tsunoda then jumped from 10th to eighth on the first lap, but Red Bull lengthened his stint until the end of lap 36 so that frontrunners Oscar Piastri<\/a>, Andrea Kimi Antonelli<\/a>, George Russell<\/a> and Lewis Hamilton<\/a> would need to overtake him before Verstappen\u2019s own pitstop.<\/p>\n Tsunoda then had a slow tyre change and lost nine seconds, which likely cost him points as he finished just 3.6 seconds away from ninth-placed Esteban Ocon<\/a>.<\/p>\n Oscar Piastri, McLaren, Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull Racing<\/p>\n Photo by: Sam Bagnall \/ Sutton Images via Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cEasy points,\u201d the Red Bull racer told Sky Sports F1, claiming that the Mercedes<\/a> cars were within reach \u2013 despite a half-a-minute gap under the chequered flag.<\/p>\n \u201cUnfortunately, pitstop was there. But also, it’s not just that.\u00a0A couple of things that I flagged, but I wasn\u2019t able to, I would say, avoid it or, I don’t know, save those situations, which I can’t say here.<\/p>\n \u201cVery, very frustrating, to be honest.\u00a0It was pretty much out of my control.\u00a0And what I can control, I think I maximised it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n In light of these mitigating circumstances, Red Bull\u2019s satisfaction makes sense \u2013 to some extent.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was very, very close in quali to Max, I think it was two tenths in Q2,\u201d Mekies told written media.<\/p>\n \u201cToday, the first stint was very, very strong as well \u2013 two tenths, three tenths from Max, on the same very long first stint on the medium.\u201d The actual deficit, excluding outliers (Verstappen battling with Hamilton, Tsunoda being overtaken by frontrunners on new tyres), exceeded four tenths on average.<\/p>\n Laurent Mekies, Red Bull Racing Team Principal<\/p>\n Photo by: Clive Mason\/Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cThen after, you know, fair enough, we left him out a bit longer because it was an advantage for us to do that, and we had a slightly long pitstop. So we killed a bit a few points that he would have scored on merit.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd of course it’s one of the reasons why we want to take a bit more time before we make a decision on the drivers. Yuki is making steps forward, the other kids are making steps forward as well, so we have no reason to rush the decision. We will take a bit more time.\u201d<\/p>\n Red Bull was initially planning on making a call on its driver line-ups \u2013 including Racing Bulls<\/a> \u2013 around this time, but has a twofold problem.<\/p>\n Read Also:<\/p>\n Firstly, the team can\u2019t find anyone suitable to drive its second car, as Pierre Gasly<\/a>, Alex Albon<\/a>, Sergio Perez<\/a>, Liam Lawson<\/a> and Tsunoda have failed to get close enough to Verstappen over the past seven seasons. Isack Hadjar<\/a> is currently the favourite for that seat thanks to his impressive Racing Bulls performance.<\/p>\n Secondly, Red Bull is keen to promote its protege Arvid Lindblad \u2013 currently seventh in Formula 2 \u2013 but which of Lawson and Tsunoda should then be cast aside is not obvious.<\/p>\n Lindblad got to drive Verstappen\u2019s RB21 in the opening practice session in Mexico, and outpaced all other rookies by seven tenths \u2013 he even beat Tsunoda, though one should point out this was not a competitive session.<\/p>\n Arvid Lindblad, Red Bull Racing<\/p>\n Photo by: Sam Bloxham \/ LAT Images via Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cI think he did a great job,\u201d Mekies said. \u201cIt’s so difficult to step up in FP1, it’s so difficult. You know, it’s very different to test days. You don’t have much tyres, you don’t have many laps.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd he did just a very, very good job. You know, you have seen on the timesheets by yourself, but he was very calm, he gave all the right feedback, he didn’t put a foot wrong, he didn’t break the car. Honestly, he has impressed us on that FP1, no question about that. We look forward to the next time in the car towards the end of the year.<\/p>\n \u201cFor the decision, as we said, as much as we accept that everyone would like us to decide, we are not in a rush. We will take all the time we need, give these guys as many chances as they can have to demonstrate on track who are the best.\u201d<\/p>\n We want to hear from you!<\/p>\n Let us know what you would like to see from us in the future.<\/p>\n![\"Oscar](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1761756190_579_oscar-piastri-mclaren-yuki-tsu.jpg\")
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<\/p>\n![\"Arvid](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1761756192_453_arvid-lindblad-red-bull-racing.jpg\")
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