Yuki Tsunoda: RB aim to fight with top five teams

Yuki Tsunoda hopes that RB can close the gap to the top five and continue fighting for regular points.

The Miami GP was another strong event for Yuki Tsunoda. After a tricky weekend in China, there were doubts creeping in about his performance compared to teammate Daniel Ricciardo. Although these reactions were entirely premature, there were still suggestions that a chassis change would make the difference in the Tsunoda-Ricciardo head-to-head.

Indeed, Ricciardo secured P4 in the Miami Sprint – delivering his best F1 result since 2021. After a mistake during Friday qualifying, Tsunoda was on the back foot. Still, he managed to climb from 15th to 8th and salvage a point.

For the main Grand Prix, however, the RB driver elevated his level. He secured yet another Q3 appearance in the VCARB 01, putting himself in a strong position to fight for points. This is precisely what he did on Sunday, executing a race characterised by speed and maturity.

His first stint on the medium tyres was crucial, allowing him to capitalise on the Safety Car and strengthen his chances of points. After Lewis Hamilton passed him at the restart, Tsunoda managed to create a significant gap to George Russell in the Mercedes behind.

RB and Tsunoda aim to progress further

With another P7 result secured, the 23-year-old is optimistic that VCARB can close the gap to the top five:

“Every race so far, we’re always driving  -at least – around P10. In most of the races, we score points, and recently, it’s not just P10,” he told F1TV post-race.

“Recently, it’s not even just P10 – [It’s] P8, P9, P7, P4. So I mean, the amount of progress we’re having is so fast. 

“Obviously, its not on the level yet of Mercedes yet. But, for example, today, I was able to gain pace – or even have faster pace than one of the Mercedes. 

“So if we continue like this, maybe at some point we can catch the P5 team. Obviously, they’re still too fast. But we never know – and that’s what we aim for.” 

Aston Martin within striking distance of RB?

The Faenza-based team finished last year in P8, and this year is set to be a significant step forward. Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo’s efforts have put the team comfortably 6th in the standings.

Tsunoda has even cracked the top 10 in the drivers’ standings, jumping ahead of Lance Stroll in the Aston Martin.

Generally speaking, Red Bull can be satisfied that RB are the “best of the rest” and established as regular points scorers. Finishing anything higher than P6 will be difficult.

It cannot be said that Aston Martin is entirely beyond reach. The Miami GP was another disappointing weekend for the Silverstone-based team. With that said, the British outfit is still a few steps ahead of the VCARB 01 – and they have upgrades on the way.

In any case, Tsunoda will work to continue putting in his strong performances.