Verstappen Warned By Tsunoda: 'Won't Make Life Easy For Him For Sure'

Monday, 12 August 2024 at 14:00

Yuki Tsunoda asserted he feels confident he could fight hard against Max Verstappen and that he would not make it easy for the Dutchman.

Yuki Tsunoda has exceeded everyone's expectations this season, outperforming his more experienced eight-time Grand Prix winner teammate Daniel Ricciardo.

Although the Japanese driver already signed a contract with VCARB for 2025 (next season), he could still be a contender for Sergio Perez's seat alongside Max Verstappen.

Both VCARB and Red Bull are owned and managed by the same company, so it isn't unusual to see drivers moving between these two teams, even in the middle of the year.

The problem for the 24-year-old is that it doesn't seem like the team from Milton Keynes wants him alongside the triple World Champion, which is a shame because he believes he would give him a run for his money. He told RacingNews365:

“"I think I can fight hard with him. I won't make life easy for him, for sure. Obviously, he's very fast, and he's very consistent."”

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“"So drivers' championship-wise, I wouldn't say I have massive confidence that I can straight away beat him in the drivers' championship from the first year."”

While the 24-year-old stays humble about whether he thinks he could challenge Verstappen for the title, he said he is confident he could fight hard against him.

“"I have confidence that I can fight hard against him, and [there is] a lot of things I can learn, especially consistency with any conditions like half-wet, dry, dry-wet, wet conditions."”

“"Multiple condition changes, he's always somehow adapted really, really well. That's why he was very consistent last year, being able to 19 races, and last year, there were a lot of multiple weather changes [during races], and those moments won't be as much car-performance dominated."”

Tsunoda has been super fast and very consistent in 2024 so far. On top of that, he is willing to learn. The question is: Why does Red Bull not consider him for the second seat in their team? He added:

“"If you're a really bad driver and driving a good car, you're still bad driver and will easily lose positions, so that's why he's [Verstappen] able to win consistently. So, those things, for sure, I can learn a lot."”