Why Verstappen and Tsunoda are still not driving the same package in Barcelona
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Kim Hoefnagel is a journalist at GPblog, specializing in Formula 1 and Formula E. With a background in communication and experience at international circuits, she delivers reliable coverage and interviews, complemented by insights from her work in the paddock and across social media.
Yuki Tsunoda appears to be heading for an extremely difficult qualifying at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. This weekend, the Japanese driver is not using the same specification of the RB21 as Max Verstappen, and according to Helmut Marko, this could prove challenging.
It seems we can expect an extremely exciting qualifying session for the Spanish Grand Prix. The field is currently incredibly close together, making anything possible on Saturday afternoon. Red Bull is hopeful for a positive outcome. The top teams are incredibly matched and might just make for an interesting combination.
At Red Bull, there is a lot of optimism on one side of the garage. Marko believes Verstappen could do well. But the Austrian is significantly less optimistic about Tsunoda. "Yuki doesn't have the same specifications as Max," Marko confirmed after FP2 to the media in Barcelona, including GPblog.
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“That's due to the accident in Imola. It was a massive damage. And how far he can make a distance to Max in time is hard to say. But he is certainly handicapped in this respect,” the chief advisor added. Will Q3 on Saturday be within reach? Marko considers the chance extremely small.
"[That] will be difficult," he emphasized. "He had a lot of sliding, so also depends if they can do it (fix it)." Marko explained that the problems arose because the team, given the triple header, had no time to make new parts.
"But because of the accident in this short time, we couldn't make the parts. Hopefully we can do it in Canada." Yet, he does not want to give up hope for Tsunoda just yet. "It's so tight together, but his long run speed was okay," said Marko.
This article was written in collaboration with Norberto Mujica
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