Helmut Marko confirms 'intense' Yuki Tsunoda discussions

Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko has confirmed that "intensive discussions" have taken place with Yuki Tsunoda. 

The Japanese driver has endured a challenging start to life with the Milton Keynes-based outfit, having scored just seven points in his 10 grands prix for Red Bull. 

To add to his difficulties, Tsunoda has been eliminated in Q1 three times across the last six events, whilst he is point-less in the last five. 

After failing to score a point in the British Grand Prix, Tsunoda matched Mark Webber's unwanted record from 2009, becoming just the second Red Bull driver to go five consecutive races without a point.

However, despite Tsunoda's struggles, Marko has revealed that the 25-year-old is making genuine steps in the right direction. 

According to Marko, Tsunoda is getting closer to Max Verstappen and now works with a sports psychologist.

"Yuki Tsunoda has struggled on some GP weekends, but we already saw an upward trend in England," Marko wrote in his Speedweek column. 

"The gap to Max was smaller than before in most of the free practice sessions, and he was able to start from eleventh place on the grid in England.

"We've had intensive discussions with Yuki; he also works with sports psychologists. Unfortunately, like Max, he had no chance in the race with this wing. 

"But we're noticing an improvement in performance, and we're optimistic that this will soon be reflected in the points."