Source:REUTERS/JAKUB PORZYCKI
[Saba Sports News] During Friday’s second practice session for the F1 Dutch Grand Prix, Yuki Tsunoda finished seventh, just 0.3 seconds behind his teammate. However, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko was not immediately impressed by the Japanese driver’s performance. Tsunoda’s seventh-place finish in the second practice could have been seen as a positive sign. Yet, when asked by media for his thoughts, Marko did not express satisfaction right away: “Let’s wait until after qualifying.” Later, the Red Bull advisor was questioned about the impact of the Imola crash on Tsunoda. Earlier this season, he had a serious crash during qualifying at the Imola Grand Prix, resulting in a parts shortage and multiple failures to advance to Q2 – most recently in the qualifying session before the summer break at the Hungarian Grand Prix. For a period after the crash, he drove an older-spec RB21 car, which may have adversely affected his performance. Marko stated: “Indeed, in most races, he did not have the latest spec car, mainly due to the parts shortage caused by his Imola crash. The situation improved by the Hungarian Grand Prix, but unfortunately, we lacked competitiveness there, so he was eliminated in Q1. However, the overall trend is moving in a positive direction.”