Yuki Tsunoda: Helmut Marko “didn’t recognise" the spec gap to Max Verstappen until Spa and Hungary

Yuki Tsunoda says Helmut Marko only truly recognised how far his pre-upgrade car lagged Max Verstappen’s after Spa and Hungary, with new parts boosting his pace as he fights for points and his Red Bull future

Yuki Tsunoda has revealed that, following two strong performances at the Belgian and Hungarian Grands Prix, Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko began to understand the true difference between his car and Max Verstappen’s. Upgrades fitted at that point had only been fitted to the reigning champion's RB21, and there was a substantial difference in performance between the two drivers.

Speaking ahead of the 2025 Dutch Grand Prix, Tsunoda discussed the difference in specification and how this upgrade has improved the car.

"Yeah, definitely I have to show more," the Japanese driver said of his performance. "But actually, the last two races before summer break, that helped a little bit.

"Probably they didn't recognise that much, especially Helmut, that the difference between me and Max in terms of the package differences. And as soon as they introduced that, my pace suddenly much improved.

"And in Hungary, the difference between me and Max was very small since practice. And that shows that actually maybe has some potential. So I think I just keep what I'm doing, but also at the same time, still have to put it all together throughout the week, you can't just probably rely on the pace.

"I need to score points. That's why I was preparing for it in this summer break and just need to score points as much as possible.

Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull Racing Team

Photo by: Zak Mauger / LAT Images via Getty Images

"And in terms of time, we kind of agreed what kind of time we are looking for to me to show the good performance, in order to let them decide what kind of contract they want for next year. But, let's see."

Tsunoda's car received a new floor in Belgium ahead of qualifying, finally largely mirroring his team-mate's specification. This saw him achieve his best qualifying result since joining the Milton Keynes outfit as he celebrated having more lateral grip. While he awaits the final few parts to match his car identically to Verstappen's, he is looking forward to showing more of his full potential.

"Maybe Helmut's thinking in the background [about sending Tsunoda back to Racing Bulls]. I never know what he's thinking, to be honest.

"But for now, I understand he's looking for me to show the performance. I think last two races, actually, like I said, after I got upgrades, there's some recognition from that performance. Actually, there's a huge difference before that. And I think that helps him and myself to give a bit more time to see how this situation evolves.

"I think he supported me quite a lot. But obviously, he's also quite a straightforward guy. He's here for the team and he wants to have points as much as possible. So, I need to perform for sure.

"But if I understand it correctly, he's still waiting a bit of time to define what's good for Red Bull. And I think let's see for Racing Bulls or whatever. They're performing currently quite well. And it's a team that I have been for a long time. So, obviously, my main goal is to still stick with Red Bull. But, let's see."

Red Bull currently sits fourth in the constructors' standings with 194 points, of which Max Verstappen has scored 187.