Tsunoda to finally break the 'curse' of Red Bull’s second car?

All the experts I’ve known, and having tapped up Driver 61, it’s pretty clear: Verstappen likes a very pointy car. A car that perhaps only he can control in the way he does. A car that lets him push right to the edge and hang it out – like only rare geniuses can do on a racetrack.

Everyone else has failed. The list is long. Six of his Formula 1 teammates have either been deemed not as good as Max, namely Carlos Sainz; run away from the fight aka Daniel Ricciardo, or the rest were just simply destroyed.

Sergio Perez was last year's casualty, undone by Verstappen. Liam Lawson was also sent packing a mere two races into his time with the team – he simply could not live up to the standards expected. And those standards were clear. Helmut Marko said no driver is going to beat Max. Therefore, if you can be within three-tenths of him, it’s a job well done.

Needless to say, neither the Mexican veteran nor the young Kiwi could wrap their heads around the car Max used to threaten for wins and regularly start on the front row. Just check the quali stats and compare. It’s simple: the car Red Bull builds for Max Verstappen is undriveable for most others.

As I often say, it’s a double-edged sword. One of the best teams in F1 welcomes you, but at the same time, the Red Bull RB21 is proving to be a far more complex beast to tame than its predecessors.

I was flummoxed at how badly Lawson failed. I’ll admit, it even spawned some wild theories. I nearly bought into the cursed car idea. Could it be that the gods of racing have combined to bless only one side of the garage?

Or could it be that the second car needs a little

muti sprinkled over it? For those unfamiliar, muti meaning tree, is what traditional witchdoctors, (aka soothsayers or druids) might use to bring luck to warriors, places, or causes. It’s still commonly used in parts of southern Africa – perhaps elsewhere too. I thought, why not get a witchdoctor to whip some magic over that number two Red Bull?

Preposterous, I know – but that’s how baffling it is to me. Then another mischievous thought dawned on me. Do you know why Red Bull is in Formula 1?

Of course, Dietrich Mateschitz loved racing, but the core business was selling Red Bull cans at top dollar relative to the competition. And with it, they’ve created a brand that is bigger than Pepsi in terms of global reach.

Apart from a few cartoon ads, Red Bull rarely advertises. Unlike rival soft drink brands plastering their logos everywhere, Red Bull builds its image through their involvement in extreme sport. Verstappen’s dominance of Formula 1 is the most extreme in terms of exposure. They also own headlines every weekend wherever racing happens, WRC, WEC, MotoGP, MotoX, NASCAR, Indycar, Formula 3, Formula 2 etc.

So, as an 'evil' marketing genius, why not conjure up constant problems for the second car? Why not keep destroying drivers who try and fail to match Max’s genius?

Because if Max doesn’t win – as happened recently – the mess in the second car grabs the headlines. Does anyone remember that Oscar Piastri won the Chinese Grand Prix and Lando Norris won in Australia? Ferrari Dq anyone? Sure, we do. But those wins were blurred by the driver fog over the kerfuffle at Red Bull this past week.

Hence, the conspiracy theory that popped into my mind: Are they doing this on purpose? Because, man, Red Bull get massive mileage out of a poor number two driver. Perez’s decline and eventual firing dominated sporting headlines during that whole saga. Now we have Lawson slaughtered. Next? Tsunoda?

Outrageous theories on this are plentiful in the F1 paddock, but Red Bull have allowed them to spawn while doing us all no favours when it comes to explaining the huge disparity between Max and the others. Or giving those others some true love, which second drivers seldom get in the Bull-pen. Maybe they know not how to do these things?

Something is awry with that second car. And that’s where Tsunoda will answer many questions on his debut for Red Bull at the forthcoming Japanese Grand Prix. Will he be beaten by Lawson in the Racing Bull? A handy car. It could happen. Will Yuki struggle in the RB21 too?

I’ll be honest: I didn’t think and still don’t think, Tsunoda is Grand Prix-winning material, let alone a F1 world champion for the future in an Oscar Piastri kind of way. But this is his moment. He can seize it and I sincerely hope he proves me and many wrong. I'd genuinely love that because he is a character.

On the bright side! What if he can drive that car? What if he does get within three-tenths of Max? What if he is the missing link Red Bull needed? I sincerely hope he is. I, as a Formula 1 fan, would love Yuki to be the real deal. Good luck, lad.