Red Bull team principal Christian Horner described Yuki Tsunoda's weekend at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix as "annoying" for the Japanese driver.
The 24-year-old made it into Q3 around the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, but he could not find the extra pace he had earlier in the session, meaning he was only able to qualify in P8, while teammate Max Verstappen took a sublime pole position with the RB21.
Unfortunately for Tsunoda, things then went downhill, as a lap one crash with Pierre Gasly, who started right behind him in P9, meant his race ended after just one lap, with neither driver carrying on after colliding together, with the stewards calling it a racing incident after the Grand Prix.
In a conversation with GPblog, among others, Horner explained that there was potential for Tsunoda to have a much improved weekend if qualifying just went a little bit differently, with Tsunoda's pace in Q2 being quick enough to have qualified P6 in Q3.
Horner on Tsunoda after the Saudi Arabian GP
“It was a shame for Yuki," the Brit said in the Jeddah paddock. "With his Q2 time, if he'd repeated that in Q3, that would have put him sixth on the grid."
However, the crash with Gasly meant there was nothing the Japanese driver could do to fight his way up the grid and get a second points finish of the season after earning his first Red Bull Racing points at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
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On the incident, Horner commented, “I think it was a racing incident with Pierre today. He was up against the wall, and I think, even in the stewards' meeting, both drivers accepted it was a racing incident. So, it was annoying for him, because I think he would have been right in this battle here for decent points today."
This article was written in collaboration with Cas van de Kleut
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