Visa Cash App RB or V-CARB has a lot to improve on despite being Red Bull’s sister team. The Faenza-based team, who entered 2024 with a new identity, went pointless in the first two rounds of the campaign. However, the Australian GP came bearing pleasant tidings for the team, with Yuki Tsunoda earning their first points of the season. Addressing the same, Helmut Marko seemed like a happy man with Tsunoda’s performance.
P7! First points of the year let’s gooo!!
今年初のポイント！過去二戦悔しいレースが続いただけに嬉しいです✌️今週ずっとコンスタントに走れたのはチームのお陰ですし、現地に駆けつけてくださった日本の方々そしてテレビで応援してくださった方々ありがとうございました！ pic.twitter.com/g0eksNVGg5
— 角田裕毅/Yuki Tsunoda (@yukitsunoda07) March 24, 2024
As reported by Motorsport, Marko praised Tsunoda for a superb showing throughout the weekend. The 80-year-old said that Tsunoda did an amazing job, and was aggressive with his approach only when he needed to be. The Red Bull boss, now feels that Tsunoda has earned the title of being a mature driver.
“I think we have confirmed that Yuki is an absolutely mature driver.”
Marko’s words will boost Tsunoda’s confidence massively. Previously, Marko hit out at both him and Ricciardo for their slow starts to the campaign, and urged them to improve on their decision making which was costing V-CARB points.
As things stand, it seems Tsunoda has paid close attention to those words and has shown significant improvement. The Japanese driver finished P8 in Melbourne, but the penalty on Fernando Alonso promoted him to P7, earning his team 6 valuable points.
Yuki Tsunoda hoping Red Bull will consider performances for 2025
With one Red Bull seat potentially open for 2025, drivers who are linked to the team are doing everything they can to prove they’re worthy of a place. Up until last year, Daniel Ricciardo was the clear favorite to land the role. However, a dismal start to this season has blown the field wide open.
Yuki Tsunoda has taken full advantage of the same, outperforming Ricciardo every step of the way. While the Honey Badger could not make it past Q1 in Australia, Tsunoda put his car in Q3. He then finished P7, earning his team’s first points of the season. Should Red Bull choose to not retain Sergio Perez, Tsunoda could become the favorite to take up his vacant seat.
️ “I just want to increase my value as a driver.”
Back-to-back Q3 appearances and a 3-0 record versus Daniel Ricciardo in qualifying so far this year – does that make Yuki Tsunoda a contender for a Red Bull seat? pic.twitter.com/mZoEhIJbBy
— The Race (@wearetherace) March 23, 2024
Having now gone up by 3-0 against Ricciardo in race results, Tsunoda hopes Red Bull will consider him strongly. PlanetF1 quoted the words of the Japanese driver as he expressed optimism over the same.
“I don’t know what’s going on with Red Bull, but hopefully, they will strongly consider it as well.”
However, it is not just the Red Bull team that Tsunoda is looking to impress. He is open to the idea of moving to any team on the grid. He claimed that he wanted to increase his value as a driver. Hoping to show he can fight “pretty strong,” The V-CARB driver said he is doing everything he can to show his performance to the rest of the grid as well.
