Ricciardo vs Tsunoda: The Battle for a Red Bull Racing F1 Seat Intensifies
Aug.2 - Yuki Tsunoda admits his situation has "completely changed" at Red Bull-owned AlphaTauri.
Before teammate Nyck de Vries' axing just prior to the Hungarian GP, Japanese Tsunoda was dominating at the junior Red Bull outfit - and clearly a contender for a future Red Bull Racing seat.
But de Vries' replacement, Daniel Ricciardo, is now arguably in pole position to succeed Sergio Pérez at the top team beyond 2024 - with Dr Helmut Marko declaring that "it is clear that this means he has to beat Tsunoda".
Ricciardo's first outing in Hungary was more impressive than Tsunoda's performance in the sister car - with the 23-year-old Japanese admitting he was "learning lots of things" from his new and famous Australian teammate.
"I think Daniel gives more information and more places that I have to improve," Tsunoda said.
"The situation has completely changed for me," he added. "Now my teammate is not only experienced but also very fast. I have felt that already."
Ricciardo, however, struggled more at Spa-Francorchamps last weekend, with the former grand prix winner not just blaming the inclement conditions.
"Even in the dry it was very difficult for me," he said. "I was always close to cars that were really fast on the straight and I just couldn't break away from the back of the field.
"Then it seemed like the others were able to squeeze more out of their tyres. So I'm eager to get back behind the wheel and see where we can get better.
"But I don't want to get too upset," Ricciardo, 33, added. "The race was the only dry session of the entire weekend, so it could have just been the setup.
"I'm glad I was able to do the whole race. Lots of feedback for the team," he said after finishing 16th - while Tsunoda managed to score a rare point."
Tsunoda was happy to have performed better at Spa than he did in Hungary, but he admits that "the pressure is much higher now".
"Because of that, I made a couple of mistakes. But in Spa I was able to put it all together in the race. It wasn't easy, but I'm happy and ready to fight Daniel in the second half of the season," he said.
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Hmm don’t think you have much to fear Yuki.
Their intra-team battle over this season's remaining events could go either way, with the losing one probably getting replaced by Lawson for next season.
However, in any case, Yuki mightn't necessarily be on Red Bull's long-term plans for main team promotion anymore.
Tsunoda clearly a contender for the second RB seat, really. I suggest you rewrite this BS.
Although, both are bad enough to please Max Verstappen
Not my words but an understanding I've got from references elsewhere, but of course, possibly only third-party speculation because I don't know better.
Alpha Tauri team is a marketing tool for Red Bulls high end fashion company by the same name.
Yuki is a young cute and fast racing driver from Japan.
Japan and Asia is a very important market for Alpha Tauri.
Yuki is most likely to move to Aston Martin in 3-4 yrs time where he will replace Alonso on his retirement and become Honda’s poster boy.
Ricciardo, big smile, um, sorry Dan i’ll Say no more.
Any better F1?
The name Alfa Tauri is being retired from the grid at the end of this year
For a new name, a good supplement / mix for RB…I’d recommend going with Patron Marko or Maxomeister
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