Horner sees Verstappen 'exceptional' quality leads to the gap between the Dutchman and Tsunoda

12:43, 12 May

byKada Sarkozi

At the Miami Grand Prix, Yuki Tsunoda completed his fourth weekend for Red Bull Racing. Team principal Christian Horner explained how the Japanese driver is dealing with the RB21's problems, in comparison to Max Verstappen.

The Dutchman currently trails Oscar Piastri by 32, and Lando Norris by 16 points in the drivers' standings. An unsafe release by the Red Bull pit crew prevented him from scoring points during the Sprint, and after claiming pole position in Qualifying, he finished in P4 after many hard-fought battles and getting jumped by George Russell in the pit lane.

Tsunoda finished in sixth position in the Sprint after all the penalties handed out by the stewards were applied, and finished in P10 during the Grand Prix. On Sunday, he lost time due to an unfortunate pit stop, and he also received a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane. Afterwards, he also talked about not yet being able to get the maximum out of the RB21.

Yuki Tsunoda during the press conference in Miami.

Horner calls Verstappen's skills 'Exceptional'

Talking to GPblog among others, Horner reflected on Tsunoda's situation in Miami. "I think obviously, again, he's working on the setup to suit his own requirements. He's talking about all the same issues that Max is in the debrief."

"So, obviously Max's ability to deal with them is, as we know, exceptional. So hopefully as the car improves, that will also help Yuki as well," the team principal concluded.