Max Verstappen after winning the British Grand Prix — Photo: © LAT Images

Red Bull

Red Bull urged to show they 'HAVE BALLS' with controversial driver choice

Tom Coronel believes Yuki Tsunoda should be handed a promotion from AlphaTauri

Dan Davis

Friday 18 August 2023 21:57

Dutch driver Tom Coronel has claimed that Yuki Tsunoda should be paired with Max Verstappen at Red Bull and has praised the ever-improving AlphaTauri racer.

Tsunoda may well soon find himself in contention for a promotion to the world champions, having caught the eye at their sister team since joining in 2021.

Sergio Perez is seemingly under pressure to perform – despite Christian Horner's insistence to the contrary – and with the driver market set to spark into life to fill soon-to-be vacant race seats, Tsunoda could be among those moving on.

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Indeed, Coronel is adamant the rapid 23-year-old is ready to be partnered with Verstappen and has claimed the decision would showcase Red Bull's mettle.

Tsunoda may be ready to take the step up to Red Bull in the near future

Tsunoda 'better than we think'

"Yuki is better than we think," he told Motorsport.com. "But yes, if you really have balls, then you put Yuki next to Max.

"He has three years of experience at the end of this season and is good enough with the sister team. Of course, then Max snaps it and that's done too."

Daniel Ricciardo may also be a contender to succeed Perez at the Milton Keynes outfit, though he is currently on the books at AlphaTauri after Nyck de Vries' axing.

Rookie De Vries was dismissed after just 10 races this year and Coronel has taken aim at the decision, insisting he was not afforded adequate time to impress.

De Vries was sacked by AlphaTauri after just 10 races this year

"That's just not enough. It’s definitely not enough and we all know that," he added. "There is hardly anyone who has only ten races to prove themselves and especially not with so little experience in that car.

"I am quite a bit disappointed about that, but on the other hand you know it when you will drive for Red Bull as fast as you come in, you can go out as fast. But Ricciardo is not going to make the difference there either. They will now find this out."