Horner: Early days for Tsunoda, he’s still settling in

Horner and Co. at Red Bull Racing took the decision to replace Liam Lawson with Tsunoda alongside Max Verstappen after the Kiwi took part in just two races, with the team getting eliminated from Q1 in qualifying and failing to score points.

And while some might argue that Lawson deserved more time, Red Bull took the decision to throw Tsunoda into the deep end for the Japanese Grand Prix, and while he hasn't been a disaster like his predecessor, the gap to Verstappen remains huge.

That means the Dutchman is still fighting on his own at the front against both McLaren drivers, primarily with the Ferraris and Mercedes also crashing the party.

However, Horner has faith that Tsunoda will deliver the goods and just needs time; he said: "Driving these cars is all about confidence, and that’s what he needs to find. I think he’ll get there.

"He’s fast. He’s just got to piece it all together. We keep seeing flashes of performance. We just need to see him put it all together. I think he’s capable of that," the Briton adamantly added.

Tsunoda is the last in a line of drivers that partnered Verstappen and struggled, starting from Pierre Gasly, who replaced Daniel Ricciardo at the team back in 2019 and lasted 12 races before failing to make an impression and getting replaced by Alex Albon.

Albon went on to race with the team for nine races in 2019 and the full 2020 season before being replaced by Sergio Perez, who raced alongside Verstappen between 2021 and 2024.

It has to be said that Perez did the best job being Verstappen's teammate, but the Red Bull car became notoriously hard to drive in 2024, which caused him to struggle, and as a result, he was shown the door, a decision that may not have been the smartest in retrospect given the current struggles of Lawson and Tsunoda.

But who comes next should Tsunoda fail to deliver? Horner insists that scenario is not being considered right now. He said: "I think I’m going to take a leaf out of Flavio [Briatore’s] book and say, ‘I don’t want to answer it’.

"Look, it’s early days for Yuki. He’s still settling in. He’s been in Q3, scored points, he’s scored points from the pit lane. He’s had a few incidents as well, so he has a long way to go.

"We’ll decide. We’ve got plenty of time on our side," Horner concluded.

It has to be said that Red Bull are caught between a rock and a hard place, as it is clearly evident that only Verstappen can currently handle the current Formula 1 single-seaters being built at Milton Keynes, while sacking Tsunoda will be a PR disaster for them despite the writing being on the wall.