‘I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong’ – Tsunoda searching for answers after P16 in Austria

Yuki Tsunoda cut a downbeat figure after ending the Austrian Grand Prix in 16th and last place, with the Red Bull driver admitting that he is finding it “really, really hard” to figure out the reason for his struggles in the RB21.

Qualifying had already proven tough for Tsunoda, who exited in Q1 after only managing to secure P18 on the grid. From there he faced a tricky afternoon at the Red Bull Ring, during which he received a 10-second time penalty – along with two penalty points – for causing a collision with Alpine’s Franco Colapinto.

While the Japanese driver avoided any further punishments when he was investigated for allegedly forcing Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll off the track in another battle, he was unable to make much progress through the field and crossed the line down in P16.

Reflecting on his race after jumping out of the car, Tsunoda – who has finished outside of the points for the last four Grands Prix – was left searching for answers over how he can improve.

“To be honest the move on Franco was a bit unnecessary,” the 25-year-old said. “I could probably wait one more lap, but that was a pretty bad move for myself.

“Otherwise the pace itself was pretty poor as well – not sure what I’m doing wrong, to be honest. I have to look through harder, but to be honest it’s really, really hard to find the reason for what I’m doing so wrong to drive this slow.”

With the British Grand Prix just a few days away as the second stop of a double header of races, Tsunoda was quizzed on whether he would use the limited time before that event to try to understand the car further, or if he would instead take more of a break following a tough weekend.

“I will look through more,” the Red Bull driver explained. “I just have to investigate more, and if I can do something different in driving style or if I can take something that Max [Verstappen] is doing differently compared to myself, whatever it is, I’ll try, from left to right, everything, and keep improving.”

It was a difficult day all-round for the Milton Keynes-based outfit, with Verstappen out of the running on Lap 1 following a collision with Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli, for which the Italian received a three-place grid penalty for next weekend’s race at Silverstone.