“More tolerable version of Lance Stroll”: Fans react as reports suggest RB’s gain in Yuki Tsunoda signing

Fans reacted as speculations of Red Bull's Yuki Tsunoda being a pay driver emerged on social media. Speculations claimed that Honda allegedly gave Red Bull Racing a discount on their engines to sign the Japanese driver to the team.

Yuki Tsunoda has been a part of the Red Bull family since the 2021 season. He debuted that year with AlphaTauri (now Racing Bulls) and was always thought to be a potential driver at Red Bull, alongside Max Verstappen. He finally got the chance to move up shortly after the start of this season, as the team decided to swap him with Liam Lawson, who had driven only two races.

While Tsunoda was moved up, considering Lawson's subpar performance, the Japanese driver hasn't been performing any better, either. A report from ESPN suggests that Honda had given a discount to Red Bull Racing on their engines, on the condition that they would give Tsunoda a full-time racing contract.

Fans on social media found this hilarious. Quite a few compared him to Lance Stroll, who is sometimes called a "pay driver". One user wrote:

"Of course. Yuki Tsuhonda, a worse and more intolerable version of Lance stroll."

Tom

@lancestroll_

And if I were to say he’s a bigger pay driver than Lance?

ᴊᴜʟɪᴀɴ²⁷ GrüllSZN

@RBR_Julian

@RBR_Daily @ESPNF1 Japanese Lance Stroll 😭💔

Some also mentioned that this was unfair to Liam Lawson, who wasn't given enough opportunity within the team, with others suggesting that Tsunoda might not stay at Red Bull with the new regulations, considering Honda is set to end their partnership with the team and start working with Aston Martin.

Men In Black

@MenInBlackNZ

@RBR_Daily @ESPNF1 As been saying for awhile Honda Sponsors him. Why screwed over Liam Lawson, so could get more money out Honda.

yudha

@utdstewie

@RBR_Daily @ESPNF1 Won't be surprised if he'll miss the new regulation cars

Aarav Dandona

@AaravDandonaX

@RBR_Daily @ESPNF1 Can he go to aston next year

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Yuki Tsunoda claims gap to Max Verstappen "continues to close"

Max Verstappen has scored all but seven of Red Bull's 194 points in the Constructors' Championship so far this season. While his teammate has struggled to put himself in a simple point-scoring position throughout the length of the season so far, Verstappen has managed to win multiple races and keep the RB21 in a competitive position against its competitors.

However, Yuki Tsunoda had a positive outlook during the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend earlier. Speaking to the media, he claimed that his gap to Verstappen was closing down, and challenged that other drivers couldn't get so close to him.

"The gap with Max continues to close, it may not feel like we are getting there but on paper we are only one tenth off his pace. I'm not sure many other drivers could get as close to him," Yuki Tsunoda said (via F1).

There is seemingly no way that Red Bull could win the Constructors' Championship this season. Moreover, although Max Verstappen was thought to be a strong contender early in the season, leader Oscar Piastri has already pulled off a 97-point gap to third-placed Max Verstappen in the Drivers' Championship standings.