Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko has sent Liam Lawson a crucial message that the team "still has patience" for the New Zealander after his latest disappointment.
Lawson was eliminated in the first part of the sprint shootout ahead of the first sprint race of the season in China, and will start in last at the Shanghai International Circuit.
The Red Bull driver was 1.5s slower than pacesetter Lewis Hamilton in SQ1, with another mistake having cost Lawson.
His poor sprint qualifying follows a retirement in the Australian Grand Prix season-opener, where he crashed out after having also been eliminated in the first part of qualifying.
It has been a very tough introduction at Red Bull for Lawson; however, Marko is already looking to the next race at Suzuka as it is the first circuit on the calendar the driver has raced at before.
"Things are not going well there," Marko told Motorsport Magazin. "The first lap was okay. He was three-tenths behind, but then another mistake followed.
"During the next race weekend he will know the circuit for the first time. The current one he doesn't know. I hope then we will have a better car in terms of balance."
One claim which has been made by onlookers is that Red Bull's sister team has a better car than the Milton Keynes-based outfit, something Marko denies.
Max Verstappen is yet to be beaten by Yuki Tsunoda or Isack Hadjar, Marko's evidence for his defence of the RB21.
However, he accepts that Red Bull's car is more difficult to drive, with the team prepared to give Lawson time.
"You can't say that," insisted Marko. "How much is Yuki Tsunoda behind Max Verstappen? The Racing Bull is easier to drive and tune, though. With Lawson we still have patience..."
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