Max Verstappen has stepped in to defend current teammate Yuki Tsunoda, suggesting Red Bull's ongoing car issues are at the heart of the problem — not the driver.
After Red Bull decided last year that the gap between Verstappen and Sergio Perez was too wide to ignore, Liam Lawson was temporarily promoted for 2025.
But he lasted only two races, and now, seven race weekends into his own stint, Tsunoda finds himself at the very back of the grid in Barcelona.
"On Friday, Tsunoda was quite close to Max," noted Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko.
"Last place certainly has to be questioned, even if Yuki isn't driving the latest car specification. The floor is different to Max's, and some other parts are different. But he crashed them himself in Imola!
"We are not in the easiest situation with spare parts. But it seems that in qualifying, Yuki can't improve," he added. "His results are disappointing. We'll have to analyse everything."
The persistent failure of Red Bull's second seat has reignited debate about the team's approach. Critics say the energy drink giant continues to install clear number twos rather than genuinely competitive teammates.
Carlos Sainz, speaking on El Cafelito ahead of the home race in Spain, said talks with Red Bull last year never progressed.
"They didn't want me, for whatever reason. We didn't come to an agreement," he said.
"I think anyone who knows anything about Formula 1 understands why Red Bull didn't want me."
Asked whether that meant Red Bull mandates a number-two role contractually, he replied: "I don't discuss contractual matters with anyone."
Verstappen, however, believes the problem may lie more in the machinery than in the men behind the wheel.
"He's not a pancake, is he?" the Dutchman said to De Telegraaf about Tsunoda. "He's proven that in the past.
"He was often faster than Lawson, right? So this probably says a lot about the car. What does it say? You can fill that in for yourself."
Meanwhile, speculation grows that Isack Hadjar, the standout rookie at Racing Bulls, is next in line if Tsunoda is dropped.
But not everyone welcomes that possibility. "Not one, but ten psychiatrists," joked Dutch racing personality Tom Coronel on Viaplay when asked what Hadjar would need if promoted.
"Don't keep doing this to the rookies," Coronel pleaded. "We've seen it too often now. Then it's the end of their career."
