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Max Verstappen supported his Red Bull teammate Yuki Tsunoda, who dropped to P20 in what turned out to be a disastrous qualifying session for him in Spain. Verstappen said Tsunoda is not a fool, and the issue of underperformance from the team's second car has been a long-term issue.
Verstappen won four world championships from 2021 to 2024 and guided Red Bull to a new era of dominance. However, his teammates have been unable to keep pace with him in the last few years.
Sergio Perez was let go last year after he fell 285 points behind his champion teammate in title standings. Moreover, Perez's replacement, Liam Lawson, was fired just two races into the 2025 season due to underpar performances.
Lawson's replacement, Yuki Tsunoda, has also been inconsistent. At the qualifying session of the 2025 Spanish Grand Prix, the Japanese driver dropped to P20 after failing to put in a good lap time in Q1.
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Reacting to his teammate's disastrous outing, Max Verstappen backed Tsunoda and said that the inconsistency with Red Bull's second seat is not a new issue. According to popular motorsport journalist Erik van Haren, the Dutch driver said:
"Yuki is not a pancake. This (with the second driver) has, of course, been going on for a long time. Maybe that is also a sign. Of what? You can fill that in yourself."
Yuki Tsunoda is yet to outperform Verstappen this season. He has 10 points to his name in eight races with a highest finish of P9 in Bahrain.
On the other hand, Verstappen is competing for his fifth title with 136 points. In Spain, he qualified P3, a tenth of a second slower than Lando Norris, who finished P2, with Oscar Piastri grabbing pole position.
Max Verstappen opens up on challenging McLaren in Spain
Four-time world champion Max Verstappen will be up against McLaren teammates Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris at the 2025 Spanish Grand Prix. He will begin the race from P3 with Norris ahead at P2 and Piastri starting from pole.
However, despite a second-row start, Verstappen admitted that challenging the McLarens would be difficult since Red Bull is lacking necessary pace. Talking to Sky Sports after the qualifying session, he said:
"We were lacking all weekend compared to them [McLaren]. We executed well. Third is where we more or less should be. It's fun. Around here it's about squeezing everything out of the car. I will try my best [tomorrow], but they will be tough to beat."
For this year's Spanish GP, the FIA introduced stricter rules for flexi wings, which forced many teams to bring in new front wings. However, McLaren's performance hasn't taken a hit despite allegations of the team gaining an illegal advantage through excessive wing flex.
