Helmut Marko evaluates Hiroki Tsunoda’s “problems” and “race performance” in F1 China | Formula1-Data / F1 Information/News Breaking Commentary

How did Helmut Marko, Red Bull’s motorsport advisor, evaluate Yuki Tsunoda, who suffered from a lack of rear grip throughout the weekend and was behind his teammate Daniel Ricciardo in every session?

Hiroki Tsunoda finished in the points twice in the opening four races and was faster than his teammates in all qualifying rounds, but in the fifth round, the Chinese Grand Prix, he dramatically lost his competitiveness.

In free practice he was 7 tenths of a second, in sprint qualifying he was 5 tenths of a second, and in qualifying he was 3 tenths behind Ricciardo, and on the 27th lap of the race he was forced to retire after his right rear was caught by Kevin Magnussen (Haas). .

Ricciardo also suffered damage to his car after being torpedoed by Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), resulting in RB (formerly AlphaTauri)’s first double retirement since the 2021 Italian Grand Prix.

Lack of experience and “mistakes” in tire selection

Marco mentioned the performance of Oscar Piastri (McLaren) in his column for “SPEEDWEEK” and expressed the view that the characteristics of the Shanghai International Circuit were one of the reasons for Hiroki Tsunoda’s slump.

“As you can see from Yuki’s example, there is no doubt that this is a circuit where experience matters,” Marko points out.

“If you look at Oscar Piastri, another driver who hasn’t driven in Shanghai, he was half a second to a second per lap slower than Lando Norris during the race.”

“Especially in the sprint format, there is less time for free practice, which puts rookies at an added disadvantage.”

Hiroki Tsunoda used hard tires in the only practice of the weekend, but since it was the first session, the grip on the road surface was very low and he was “just sliding around.”

“Racing Bulls probably made a mistake” in terms of tire selection, Marko said, noting that it had a negative impact on his familiarity with the course he was running on for the first time.

Magnussen’s chance to win

Although he ended up retiring, Yuki Tsunoda put on a show despite the difficult conditions, taking advantage of the grip of the soft tires and moving up three positions on the opening lap.

However, regarding the pace he struggled with throughout the weekend, he said, “I still didn’t feel like it had improved.The problem is how to find the pace, but there was definitely a significant difference compared to my teammates.” ” he admitted.

However, Marko believes that Hiroki Tsunoda’s race pace was comparable to Ricciardo’s, and that he would have had a chance to score points had he not been contacted by Magnussen.

“Tsunoda’s lap times in the race were on the same level as Ricciardo. He would have had a chance to score points, but his hopes were dashed by Magnussen,” Marko wrote.

Regarding Ricciardo, he said that the new chassis had a positive impact on his mental health, calling it “much better” compared to the past four races.

He added: “I can’t believe Lance Stroll called him ‘stupid’ after the checkered flag. On top of that he had to take a grid drop penalty in Miami. It was a really bad weekend for him.” .

F1 China GP Special Feature