Helmut Marko praises Yuki Tsunoda for making mistakes a ‘thing of the past’ amidst impressive 2024 start

Yuki Tsunoda has scored RB's only points so far this season while outperforming teammate Daniel Ricciardo.

Helmut Marko praises Yuki Tsunoda for making mistakes a ‘thing of the past’ amidst impressive 2024 start

Helmut Marko (L), Yuki Tsunoda (R) (images via IMAGO).

Yuki Tsunoda has been racing for RB since 2021, when the team was known as AlphaTauri. The Japanese driver became infamous for his excessive swearing on team radio while making some major mistake. However, Tsunoda has turned things around this season against teammate Daniel Ricciardo. Now, Red Bull Motorsport Consultant Dr. Helmut Marko has praised the local hero’s performance at the Japanese GP.

Post-race, Marko highlighted in the four races of 2024 so far, the Japanese driver had reached Q3 in three instances despite the mediocre pace of the VCARB-01. The 80-year-old claimed that Yuki Tsunoda was performing consistently with his mistakes becoming a thing of the past.

There are four races and Yuki has put the car in Q3 three times. It is constant and the mistakes are a thing of the past.
Helmut Marko told Sky F1 Germany
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Moreover, Helmut Marko mentioned that Tsunoda had stopped lashing out on team radio. The Red Bull advisor reckoned that the Honda prodigy had truly blossomed this season. Yuki Tsunoda has managed to outperform Daniel Ricciardo throughout the season while scoring RB’s only points so far.

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His lack of control on the radio is also gone. He's really blossomed.
Helmut Marko asserted

Helmut Marko claims Red Bull to evaluate drivers in the summer break amidst Yuki Tsunoda’s performances

Sergio Perez‘s contract with Red Bull runs till the end of this season. Red Bull will consider its options to partner Max Verstappen at Milton Keynes. Although, Daniel Ricciardo was believed to the prime candidate to take Perez’s seat, things have changed in light of Tsunoda’s incredible results.

Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo
Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo (Via IMAGO)

Helmut Marko highlighted that it was only April with the majority of the races left. The Austrian claimed that Milton Keynes will look into its driver situation for the two teams near the summer break. Marko made it clear that Red Bull was not going to rush its decision as it carefully monitors the busy driver market. 

It's April and we still have a lot of races left. Then we'll look at the driver situation when the summer break comes. We want to monitor it closely and make the right decision. That will definitely last until summer.
Helmut Marko concluded

Yuki Tsunoda has established himself as a contender for the Red Bull seat for 2025. The Japanese driver will be looking to continue his stellar form in the upcoming races to further solidify his claim. However, Sergio Perez has delivered decent results which might allow him to stay at the team for the future. As such, fans would need to wait to see how things pan out for the two Red Bull-owned teams next year.

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