Despite Daniel Ricciardo Dropping Huge AlphaTauri Hope, Yuki Tsunoda Faces Huge Roadblock to Optimize His Stint in Mexico

It’s only been a week since Daniel Ricciardo‘s return, and he appears to have turned back the clock with a fantastic P6 in FP2. His remarkable performance in the Mexican Grand Prix’s practice session has given him hope of earning points in his AT04. On the other hand, his teammate, Yuki Tsunoda, who has been brilliant thus far this season, has encountered an obstacle.

In an amazing twist of fate at the Mexican track, the Honey Badger was only 0.014 seconds behind P5 Sergio Perez and three-tenths of a second behind Max Verstappen, who clocked the best time. And, delighted with his fantastic performance, the 34-year-old stated, as quoted by Speedcafe,” I know what I felt in the car today was good, and I believe it’s a top 10 car tomorrow.”  

Though Ricciardo’s comments might have delighted and encouraged the entire Faenza-based squad, the fate that Yuki Tsunoda will face on Sunday is something his team will be concerned about. Yuki will be starting the main race from the last at Mexico City GP after he replaced all engine and gearbox components.

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In Tsunoda’s AT04, the Alpha Tauri driver has replaced the internal combustion engine, turbo, MGU-H, and MGU-K. Aside from that, the energy storage and control unit has increased from two to three components. That’s not all, as the 23-year-old also has received an additional gearbox, and the combination of all of these changes will put the Japanese driver at a disadvantage.

In light of all of these changes, Tsunoda might not have a very great race at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. On top of that, with his current form contrasting sharply with Lawson’s brilliant cameo, the 23-year-old must be desperate to preserve his spot in the team.

With the arrival of rookie driver Nyck de Vries this year, all eyes were on Tsunoda, the team’s senior driver, who had been performing consistently and collecting critical points for them. Nonetheless, as the season continued, the Dutchman was kicked out of the squad owing to his poor performance. This ousting of the Dutchman resulted in the entrance of Daniel Ricciardo to the roster alongside the outstanding Yuki Tsunoda. Though the Japanese driver handled the honey badger’s early punches admirably, an incident in Zandvoort saw Liam Lawson replace Ricciardo.

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Lawson impressed everyone with his cameo and scored a couple of points in the car. The Kiwi driver’s performance put Red Bull management in a difficult spot, for their drivers pairing next season. Later, fortunately for Tsunoda, his and Ricciardo’s contracts were extended until 2024. However,  since the contract extension was announced, Tsunoda’s form has deteriorated. The Japanese driver had two DNFs in the AT04 following the Belgian GP.

Nonetheless, considering Tsunoda’s contributions over the last three seasons, the Alpha Tauri has convincingly offered him a seat till 2024. Although this does not mean that the 23-year-old is safe since the focus of Red Bull personnel will shift to him and his performance beginning next year. Red Bull certainly does not want to lose a talent like Liam Lawson, he will be assigned to the Alpha Tauri in the near future.