Yuki Tsunoda Crashes into the Wall During Second Practice at Saudi Arabian Grand Prix After Struggling to Keep Up with Red Bull’s Expectations

Yuki Tsunoda’s second practice session at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix turned out to be a costly one, with the young driver crashing into the wall just as the session was nearing its end.

This marks his third race weekend with Red Bull, replacing Liam Lawson, who had only raced for two weekends before being sent back to Red Bull’s sister team, RB.

Tsunoda’s Transition to Red Bull

Tsunoda’s time at Red Bull has been a bit of a mixed bag so far.

While he has shown improvements over Lawson, his performances have still been relatively modest.

Tsunoda finished in 12th place at his home race in Suzuka and 9th in Bahrain—solid results but not anything that stands out.

Despite these finishes, Tsunoda hasn’t exactly made waves in the team.

In contrast, Lawson’s struggles were evident, with the Kiwi driver failing to score any points in his first two races and a sprint race in China.

So while Tsunoda hasn’t been blowing away expectations, his performances have been more competitive than Lawson’s, making him the preferred choice for Red Bull.

Trouble Strikes in Jeddah

It wasn’t a smooth start to the weekend in Jeddah for Tsunoda.

During Friday’s practice, he was involved in a crash that left his car badly damaged.

On the approach to the final corner, Tsunoda clipped the inside wall, causing his front-left tire to come loose.

Unfortunately, this meant his car was sent straight into the barrier on the exit, forcing a red flag just five minutes before the session was over.

Although Tsunoda walked away unharmed—thanks to the relatively low-speed nature of the crash—his Red Bull wasn’t as lucky.

The damage to his car scattered debris all over the track, preventing the practice session from resuming.

At the time of the crash, Tsunoda was in 7th place, with McLaren’s Lando Norris leading the timesheets.

Max Verstappen, Tsunoda’s teammate, was in third, nearly three-tenths behind Norris but still faster than Tsunoda by four-tenths.

Tsunoda’s Ambitious Goals

Before the practice session, Tsunoda made a bold statement, claiming that he could potentially beat his teammate Verstappen, a four-time world champion.

Speaking to RacingNews365, Tsunoda explained how he was adapting to a completely different car after spending the previous four years driving for VCARB.

He expressed confidence that if he could unlock the full potential of his new car, he might be able to challenge Verstappen, though he acknowledged that this wouldn’t happen immediately.

Tsunoda’s approach seems grounded in patience.

“I know I can’t beat him straight away,” he said.

“I’m just trying to build a good baseline and wait for the moment when I can be in the best shape.”

Red Bull’s Struggles and Verstappen’s Challenge

While Red Bull has shown some promise, they are not yet where they want to be in the standings.

The team has not been able to match the performance of constructors’ championship leaders McLaren.

Verstappen, however, has continued to perform well, sitting in third place in the drivers’ championship, just eight points behind Norris.

If Red Bull doesn’t make significant improvements in their car development, Verstappen’s hopes of securing a fifth consecutive drivers’ championship title—tied for the record—may be slim.

What’s Next for Tsunoda and Red Bull?

As the season progresses, the pressure is on both Tsunoda and Red Bull to deliver better performances.

Tsunoda’s journey at Red Bull is still unfolding, and although his early results haven’t been groundbreaking, his drive to improve and challenge the likes of Verstappen could make for an interesting story.

For now, the team’s focus will likely remain on car development to give Verstappen a fighting chance at the title, while Tsunoda continues to build his experience and aim for his own breakthrough.