Tsunoda: It may not look like it, the gap to Max continues to close

Although Tsunoda had originally qualified his Red Bull in P16, he took a new power unit before the race, opting for a pitlane start that ultimately yielded no competitive advantage.

Tsunoda explained: “We knew Sunday was going to be difficult to get into the points, and as soon as I suffered damage to the front wing, our race was practically over. A wing tab came off mid-race and that caused us to lose a lot of pace and grip, so we missed the opportunity to make a strategic decision that would have benefited us.”

The Hungarian Grand Prix also marked the second consecutive weekend of operational errors for Tsunoda, who revealed that confusion over pit strategy again compromised his race: “Also, something we can improve a lot in terms of communication is that if I were fighting for points, there would be a situation that could cost me quite dearly.

"It’s happened the last two weeks, the last two races in a row, so it’s starting to get very frustrating. It's something we have to improve a lot and fight with all our strength in the second half of the season.”

Despite a poor run of race results, Tsunoda remains positive about his performance trend over the season, particularly since Red Bull introduced an upgraded floor at Spa-Francorchamps. In Belgium, the 25-year-old reached Q3 and qualified 7th, just 0.3s behind Max Verstappen.

“Looking back at the season so far, I feel quite positive. We’ve made progress, especially since the new floor upgrades were installed at Spa,” Tsunoda said. “The gap to Max continues to close. It may not look like we’re getting there, but on paper we’re only a tenth off his pace. I’m not sure many other drivers can get that close to him.”

When Tsunoda joined the senior Red Bull team, he did not shy away from the challenge of going up against a four-time World Champion who has dominated the team for seven years. His words at the time hinted at overt self-belief, words that have come back to haunt him: “It's my first time driving a completely different car.

"I only drove with VCARB for the last four years, so it's the first time I drove a completely different team's car. I’m trying to use that, and I know that if I unlock that area, I would be able to probably beat him. I know myself that I can't beat him straight away, so I'm just trying to build a good baseline and wait for the moment," he said at the time.

Whether that moment will come remains to be seen, but for now, Tsunoda heads into the summer break with work to do - not just in pace, but in execution.