The Singapore Grand Prix saw one Red Bull star do potential damage to his chances of keeping his place on the Formula 1 grid with what Laurent Mekies described as a ‘shocking’ start to the race

View Image

Yuki Tsunoda was disappointed with his performance in Singapore(Image: Getty Images)

Red Bull chief Laurent Mekies branded Yuki Tsunoda’s start at the Singapore Grand Prix as “shocking”, whilst the Japanese driver admitted it was the “worst start” of his life. The 25-year-old crossed the line at the Marina Bay Street Circuit in 12th position, trailing Racing Bulls rising star Isack Hadjar, who was battling a power unit problem that was costing him four-tenths of a second each lap.

Team-mate Max Verstappen claimed second spot, just behind winner George Russell. Those figures paint a worrying picture for Tsunoda, who is fighting to guarantee his future on the Formula 1 grid but struggling for form despite the situation.

Red Bull are still deliberating over their driver line-up but, with Hadjar, Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad all competing with the Japanese racer for three available seats, there is minimal margin for mistakes between now and the season’s conclusion.

And team principal Mekies was hardly complimentary of Tsunoda as he assessed his driver’s performance in Singapore. “Yeah, you’re right, let me say it was not a good Saturday for Yuki,” the Frenchman said.

“I think, honestly, on Friday, personally, I was satisfied with the work he has done on Friday. It was not looking spectacular on page one, but looking at every single lap, I think it was at the right level on Friday, then Saturday was poor – we need to work with him to understand what derailed it.”

Referring to a dreadful opening lap that dropped Tsunoda back to 18th in the running order, Mekies added: “Today, the first lap was certainly shocking. But from that point onward, I think he has done a very decent race. I think he came back from P18 to P12 or P11, with a very decent pace. So we had a very poor Saturday, it’s costing us the weekend and a few points, and we’ll work with him to improve together.”

Tsunoda did not dispute Mekies’ stern evaluation of his race start, instead admitting that his performance was not where it needed to be. He said: “It definitely was the worst start or the first lap ever in my life.

“I can’t still believe what happened in the first lap. Every place I tried to go, every corner in the first lap, I was literally covered or blocked by someone.

“I just didn’t have any space to go. I lost so much position in the first lap. It was definitely the worst start ever. I don’t know what I should have done there. I’m sure there’s something I could have done better.

“That, for sure, made my life very hard afterwards. To be honest, the pace was one of the best I’ve had in my Red Bull career so far. It’s a shame what I had there.”