Is Verstappen v Tsunoda the new Schumacher v Irvine?

Yuki Tsunoda has an Eddie Irvine problem in that he’s up against an “exceptional driver” who can drive the pants off an “extremely designed” car.

That’s according to Christian Horner after he recently spoke with the former Ferrari race winner.

Yuki Tsunoda has seven points in 10 races for Red Bull

Ever since losing Daniel Ricciardo at the end of the 2018 season, Red Bull have had a problem finding a second driver who can match Max Verstappen, or at least get close to the four-time World Champion.

Burning through Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon, the team turned to Racing Points’ Sergio Perez, before he too was given his marching papers at the end of a disappointing 2024 season.

Replaced by Liam Lawson, the New Zealander lasted all of two Grand Prix weekends before he was sent back to Racing Bulls and Yuki Tsunoda was promoted in his stead.

But while the Japanese driver has been guaranteed by Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko that he will see out the season, after all, Red Bull have “no alternative”, Tsunoda is struggling behind the wheel of the RB21.

Qualifying 12th for the British Grand Prix, which marked the sixth race weekend in succession in which he’d fallen short of Q3, Tsunoda lost positions in a rain-affected race.

For the second race in succession, the Japanese driver was the last of the classified runners after earning a 10-second time penalty when he tangled with Oliver Bearman.

The incident occurred after a Safety Car restart on lap 22, with Tsunoda, on the inside of Turn 6, punting the Haas into a spin. Tsunoda also picked up a penalty point, bringing his total to five.

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The race was just the latest in a serious of difficult events for Tsunoda and had Horner equating the 25-year-old’s struggles to those of Irvine during his Ferrari days alongside Michael Schumacher.

Irvine spent four years at Ferrari alongside then-double World Champion Schumacher, the two joining the Maranello team at the same time.

The Ferrari F1 cars suited Schumacher’s driving style as they were sharp on the front end, which played to his strengths. That, however, made them more tricky for others to drive.

While Schumacher won 19 Grands Prix in those four years, Irvine managed just four.

Horner, having recently spoken with the former F1 driver, equated Irvine’s troubles to those Tsunoda is currently experiencing in the RB21 alongside Max Verstappen.

“I just spoke to Eddie Irvine, and it was very reminiscent of what he experienced with Michael Schumacher at Ferrari in the 90s,” Horner reportedly told F1TV.

“Such exceptional drivers can drive a car that is extremely designed for a super-strong front axle – and there are very few who can do that.

“That’s why we’re trying to take a different approach with Yuki to calm things down a bit for him.”

That approach, alas, didn’t work at Silverstone with Tsunoda’s run out of the points up to five races.

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