Tsunoda was at the centre of a controversy in F1’s 2024’s season opener in Bahrain, as a result of his initial refusal to obey an RB team order to allow team-mate Daniel Ricciardo to pass and also over his driving towards the Australian on the race’s cooldown lap.
Ricciardo felt the first element cost him a shot to attack Haas’ Kevin Magnussen late in the Bahrain event, while the pair nearly collided following the chequered flag.
Tsunoda locked up aggressively overtaking his team-mate at Bahrain’s downhill Turn 8 hairpin, then he brought his VCARB 01 very close to the sister car as they carried on their journey back to the pits.
The pair disagreed on the decision to enact the team order immediately afterwards, with Ricciardo then revealing as F1 reconvened for this weekend’s Jeddah race that they ultimately ended up “in a better place” after discussing the situation with RB’s management.
Speaking later on Wednesday in the pre-event press conference in Saudi Arabia, Tsunoda was asked why his Red Bull employer would want to promote a driver who struggles to control their emotions.
This is as the Red Bull senior team considers its 2025 driver line-up amid uncertainty continuing to fall on Sergio Perez.
Source: Autosport