Horner full of praise for Tsunoda despite his FP2 crash: "You can see his confidence is coming"

Red Bull team principal was full of praise for Yuki Tsunoda and his Friday performance at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, with "his confidence growing".

The Japanese driver got his first points in his second race at the Austrian team, taking P9 at the Bahrain Grand Prix to kick off his Red Bull Racing points tally.

Around the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, Tsunoda's pace was very solid, just behind Max Verstappen during the qualifying simulations and early long-run laps.

However, with under ten minutes to go, a lapse in concentration saw the 24-year-old turn in too early and clip an inside wall, breaking the suspension on his front left tyres, sending him into the wall and damaging his front right suspension too.

Horner sees "progress" from Tsunoda despite crash

"It started with the left front, and then he hit the right front, so he's done the front suspension, front wing," explained Horner to Viaplay when asked what damage had been done to the RB2 after the incident.

"We hope the floor will be okay, but until we get the car back, we'll have a good look at that. He was on a long run, and he made a mistake. But, up until that point, he's driven very well. You can see his confidence is coming, his times are starting to come, so it's good to see the 22 car making progress."

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"He had a sensible first session. His short runs were good. It was just a shame he had that moment. But it shows they're all pushing," continued the Brit, still positive that Tsunoda can bring a good result for the Austrian team.

Looking at the overall picture for Red Bull, Horner said there were some things that looked far more promising than what was seen in Bahrain last week.

"I think the short run looked good. Well, it looked encouraging, or more encouraging. Still issues we need to work on. The long run is obviously what you've got to focus on, though. So plenty to look at tonight and work on. The long run is obviously what you've got to focus on, though. So, plenty to look at tonight and work on for tomorrow.

"I think the McLarens are a step ahead, in all honesty. I think that it's very tight between the Ferraris and Mercedes, and ourselves. But looking at the McLarens, they do look very, very competitive at this point in time," Horner concluded.