Tsunoda Struggles for Pace at Spanish GP Practice; Verstappen Sees Improvement
Barcelona, Spain — Yuki Tsunoda faced a perplexing lack of speed during the opening practice sessions of the Spanish Grand Prix, expressing frustration over his performance as he fell six tenths short of teammate Max Verstappen’s pace. Despite a smooth execution in both Friday sessions, the Red Bull Racing driver admitted, “I don’t have any idea why I’m slow.”
During the soft-tyre qualifying simulations, Tsunoda battled notable sliding issues at both axles, a situation he communicated via team radio. GPS data revealed a significant speed deficit through critical corners, particularly Turns 9 and 10.
“It was tricky,” Tsunoda acknowledged. “I think I made progress from FP1 to FP2, but the gap is not what I expect. It’s hard to identify the exact limitation I have.” He expressed a commitment to explore solutions despite the curfew constraints that would make for a long night of analysis.
Conversely, Max Verstappen reported an “OK” Friday, feeling moderately positive about the car’s performance compared to previous weekends. While acknowledging room for improvement, he noted, “The feeling with the car is better than it was in the past.”
“Every track is different, and I still want a better feeling from the car. It was definitely a bit more positive today,” Verstappen stated, highlighting the challenging conditions stemming from the heat affecting tire performance.
As the teams prepare for qualifying, Tsunoda aims to address his pace issues, while Verstappen looks to build on a more favorable setup heading into the race weekend.
