Red Bull issue Yuki Tsunoda apology after 'painful' error

Red Bull has delivered an apology to Yuki Tsunoda after the Japanese driver suffered a horror qualifying outing in Las Vegas.

Tsunoda ended qualifying in 19th place, ending up only ahead of Lewis Hamilton, who suffered a similarly painful result.

The poor showing for Tsunoda comes during a period in which he is fighting for his Red Bull future following a season of disappointing performances.

But Red Bull team boss Laurent Mekies asserted Tsunoda's lacklustre display in Las Vegas was not a fault of the driver.

“With Yuki, it is on us,” Mekies said. “We made a big mistake with his tyre pressure which meant that he was out there with a setting that basically gave him no chance to be competitive, so we as a team, apologise to him for that. 

“This sort of thing should not happen, but it did, so the best we can do is learn from it and come back stronger. 

“He’s been in a really good rhythm all weekend, so it is painful to have taken his chance away. Tomorrow should make for an interesting race day.”

Tsunoda is facing an uphill battle to score points in the race as he starts from the back row of the grid.

The 25-year-old noted after the session that he felt “very strange” feelings with the tyres, labelling it a “shame” after showing encouraging pace throughout the weekend.

“Until today, it was probably the best pace I ever had,” Tsunoda said. “It's very tough.”