Verstappen's Win Hides Red Bull's Real Problem: Tsunoda Wasn't Close

Max won from pole, but the second Red Bull was never in the conversation — and that's the story no one's telling.

Max Verstappen won from pole in Baku. Controlled race, clean strategy, zero drama. Everyone's happy.

Except no one's asking why his teammate finished a full second per lap slower and never once threatened for a podium. That's not a teammate battle. That's a supporting role.

Key Finding

Tsunoda finished a second per lap slower than Verstappen and was never a factor. Red Bull has a one-car team.

Tsunoda was never in the fight

TSU vs VER — gap between them on every lap

The red line starts 9 seconds back and only gets worse — Tsunoda never closed the gap, not even once.

TSU aheadVER ahead

Final gap: VER ahead by 33.9s.

Key Finding

Tsunoda finished a second per lap slower than Verstappen and was never a factor. Red Bull has a one-car team.

Start with the numbers: Verstappen averaged 105.51 seconds per lap on the hard tyre. Tsunoda? 106.20. That's seven-tenths per lap, sustained across 38 laps. By the time they both pitted for mediums, the gap was 25 seconds. Not because Tsunoda made a mistake. Because he was simply slower.

And here's the part that should worry Red Bull: Tsunoda's degradation was actually worse than Verstappen's. Max was losing 0.066 seconds per lap to tyre wear. Yuki was losing 0.092. Same car, same strategy, same compound — but one driver was managing the rubber and the other was chewing through it.

Red Bull ran identical strategies — and got totally different results

TSU vs VER — tyre strategy across 51 laps

Both drivers did one stop, both went hard-to-medium. Verstappen won. Tsunoda finished sixth.

TSU: H→M | VER: H→M

Key Finding

Tsunoda finished a second per lap slower than Verstappen and was never a factor. Red Bull has a one-car team.

You could argue Tsunoda was protecting the tyres for a late charge. Except he wasn't. When both drivers bolted on the mediums — Tsunoda on lap 39, Verstappen two laps later — the gap didn't shrink. It grew. Verstappen ran 103.81-second laps. Tsunoda managed 104.84. Still seven-tenths down.

And this wasn't traffic. Tsunoda was running in clear air for most of the race. He qualified sixth, finished sixth, and at no point looked like he belonged in the top five. Meanwhile, Verstappen was untouchable from the moment the lights went out.

The speed trace shows where Tsunoda is losing time

TSU (Lap 41) vs VER (Lap 50) — fastest laps compared

Compare the two lines through the castle section — Verstappen carries more mid-corner speed everywhere.

TSU (Lap 41)VER (Lap 50)

Fastest laps: TSU Lap 41, VER Lap 50.

Key Finding

Tsunoda finished a second per lap slower than Verstappen and was never a factor. Red Bull has a one-car team.

The consensus take will be that Red Bull had a solid day: pole, win, clean race. But that only works if you ignore the car in sixth place.

A championship-winning car should have two drivers fighting for podiums. Red Bull had one driver cruising to victory and another who couldn't get within half a minute. That's not a package problem. That's a driver problem — or it's a car that only works when Max Verstappen is behind the wheel, which might be worse.

Key Finding

Tsunoda finished a second per lap slower than Verstappen and was never a factor. Red Bull has a one-car team.

Singapore is next. Marina Bay is all about precision, brake stability, and managing a car through slow corners under lights. If Tsunoda couldn't find pace on the Baku straights, good luck in the twisty bits.

Verstappen will be fine. He always is. But Red Bull's second seat? That's where the real race is — and right now, no one's showing up to fight it.

Nadia Ferreira

@@nadia_f_racing

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