Red Bull take blame for Yuki Tsunoda’s latest qualifying disaster

Red Bull have apologised to Yuki Tsunoda for making a “big mistake” which resulted in his disastrous Q1 elimination in Las Vegas Grand Prix qualifying.

Tsunoda was dumped out of the first part of qualifying for the sixth time this season as he could only manage a time good enough for 19th on the grid in treacherously wet conditions.

For the second time in the last four races, Red Bull have taken up the blame for an early qualifying exit for Tsunoda, while teammate Max Verstappen grabbed second on the grid.

Red Bull boss Laurent Mekies admitted the team got Tsunoda’s tyre pressures all wrong, leaving him with “no chance to be competitive”.

“With Yuki, it is on us,” Mekies explained. “We made a big mistake with his tyre pressure which meant that he was out there with a setting that basically gave him no chance to be competitive, so we as a team, apologise to him for that.

“This sort of thing should not happen, but it did, so the best we can do is learn from it and come back stronger. He's been in a really good rhythm all weekend, so it is painful to have taken his chance away.”

Another low for Tsunoda

Tsunoda is widely expected to lose his Red Bull seat alongside Verstappen to Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar next season, though a final call is yet to be made.

This latest result will do little to help Tsunoda’s cause and the Japanese driver was left frustrated after showing encouraging pace earlier in the weekend.

”I just didn’t have any grip throughout the session, it felt like complete ice underneath me and I was wheel spinning,” he said.

“I knew it was weird, and I wasn’t sure what had happened with the tyre set but it felt very strange. Last time I used the extreme tyre it didn’t feel like that and I was super quick, this time I was three seconds off everyone else, so I didn’t understand.

“Clearly something wasn’t right and wasn’t working properly, I could feel that. Now I know my pressures were way off where they should have been, which explains the issues I had throughout Q1, but I did whatever I could in the circumstances.

“It’s tough and it’s a shame because up until quali we have had amazing pace all weekend, probably the best pace I have had since joining the team. I have to try tomorrow to get something out of the race."