Marko "still trusts my talent and the speed," claims Tsunoda
Despite his current struggles behind the wheel of the RB21, Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda reckoned that while Red Bull's motorsport advisor Dr Helmut Marko is a "direct guy", his pressure sometimes brings him "into the level that I never think about."
Yuki Tsunoda extended his contract with Racing Bulls for his 2025 campaign, partnering FIA Formula 2 runner-up Isack Hadjar. However, after his early-season performances at the Australian and Chinese Grands Prix—including sixth at the latter sprint—Red Bull opened discussions to promote Tsunoda as a replacement for Liam Lawson at the parent team.
He had qualified fifth and ninth, respectively, before being denied points finishes due to strategic errors at both, as well as spontaneous front wing damage in China.
Red Bull then elected to replace Lawson with Tsunoda in a swap deal from the Japanese Grand Prix onwards, partnering defending four-time World Drivers' Champion Max Verstappen for the remainder of the 2025 season. However, the Japanese driver has had a very disappointing period of time since he joined the Milton Keynes outfit.
Despite the current difficulties, Red Bull's motorsport advisor Dr Helmut Marko indicated several times that the Milton Keynes-based squad will not switch the Japanese driver with anyone for the seat.
Commenting on Marko's support, Tsunoda said: "Yes, rather than him saying probably going switch in two races or whatever, for sure. But like I said, him and Christian are very supportive. He was not obviously happy with my race in Austria, but at the same time, he’s still willing to continuously help or support me.
"He still trusts my talent and the speed, so I just have to prove on track that I can do it. Helmut is just a direct guy. Some races if you do bad, he just tells me what was wrong and what was right. It’s a kind of pressure that he gives me.
"Sometimes brings me into the level that I never think about or extracts from me some performance. It’s just the way that he works since when I was a junior, and yeah, I appreciate the amount of support I’m getting so far."
