Why 'furious' Newey may have held back Tsunoda promotion

Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko has suggested that former technical chief Adrian Newey was part of the reason that Yuki Tsunoda had been overlooked for promotion from the sister Racing Bulls team.

Liam Lawson was preferred to the Japanese driver as Sergio Perez's replacement but after only two races, where the New Zealander failed to score, Red Bull has opted to switch the duo, giving Tsunoda a home debut at Suzuka this weekend.

Newey was not a fan of Tsunoda

When asked why Tsunoda did not start the year at Red Bull, Marko told Austrian outlet Kleine Zeitung: “For a long time, Yuki had the image of not performing consistently and making silly mistakes here and there.

"That's what happened last year in Mexico when the decisive phase came for us. With Lawson, the exact opposite was happening. He joined and performed immediately, no matter how great the pressure was. In hindsight, it was not the right decision.”

But elaborating, Marko pointed to an incident almost three years ago that hindered Tsunoda's progression.

“In Silverstone [in 2022], Tsunoda drove into Gasly's car," he explained. 

"Parts on the track damaged Verstappen's car floor, which cost him the victory at that time. Adrian Newey was furious at that moment. From that moment on, Yuki was like a red flag to him. But now Newey is gone and Yuki has worked hard on himself.

"He came out very strong from the winter break and he delivered two great races, in which the strategic team prevented him from finishing in a better position. Yuki's management has changed, he has simply matured and he has a lot of confidence. I heard that he already expects to finish on the podium in Japan - I am already happy if Max lands on the podium, but hey, let's wait and see what is possible in Japan.”