Tsunoda laments ‘one of the worst gaps’ to Verstappen as he takes 17th in FP2

Yuki Tsunoda was shocked by his underperformance in Free Practice 2 for Formula 1’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, with ‘one of the worst gaps’ to Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen.

Tsunoda had to sit out FP1 at Yas Marina as incoming Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad – the main reason why the Japanese racer finds himself without a seat for 2026 – drove his car, allowing Red Bull to fulfil the regulations regarding mandatory young driver running on grand prix weekends.

Tsunoda then took a lowly 17th position in the evening session, with his 1m24.303s quickest time 0.857s slower than Verstappen’s benchmark.

“I didn't expect it to be like this challenging, to be honest, but it's too far away,” he commented. “I don't know what's going on, to be honest. I have to see why and what's going on. But the gap seems one of the worst in the season. So, let's see.”

Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull Racing Team

Photo by: Zak Mauger / LAT Images via Getty Images

Asked whether the RB21 was okay or not very comfortable to him, Tsunoda said: “Didn't feel much comfortable, let's be honest, in the car. I kept sliding around. I have to find out why, what's causing this issue. But it's not really good.”

Red Bull’s outgoing driver, who will take on a test and reserve role for 2026, no longer has much at stake, other than potentially improving on his current 15th place in the drivers’ standings (he could mathematically finish between 10th and 19th) or helping the team to second place in the constructors’ championship, where its deficit to Mercedes is 33 points.

Even if both Silver Arrows retired while Verstappen won, this would require Tsunoda to finish the race in sixth at the very worst – something he has done just once this season, with precisely sixth in Baku.