Yuki Tsunoda fires 'unfair' Max Verstappen comparison response

Yuki Tsunoda has insisted it is not "really fair" for him to be compared to Max Verstappen, following 11 races alongside the Dutchman at Red Bull. 

Since replacing Liam Lawson following the Chinese Grand Prix, Tsunoda has joined the group of former number two Red Bull drivers to struggle alongside Verstappen. 

The four-time F1 champion has often proven too difficult to partner with for many drivers, resulting in a staggering performance difference. 

It has been the same for Tsunoda, who has scored just seven points since jumping into the RB21. In the same 11-race spell, Verstappen has scored 149 points. 

Tsunoda has discovered how difficult it is to partner Verstappen, who he deems to be the strongest driver on the grid, but does not believe the duo should be compared.

Asked by select media, including RacingNews365, how it has been comparing himself to Verstappen, Tsunoda said: "Yeah, he is, I can say, the current best driver on the grid. 

"How he always extracts performance from the [car], consistently, every session, every grand prix, it's very impressive. It's one of the things that you can [not] do very easily, and it seems like he can. He does it very easily. 

"But at the same time, I don't think it's just really fair to compare [us], and I don't want [to be] directly compared with him."

Tsunoda's reasoning for no Verstappen comparison

Tsunoda has his reasons as to why comparing Red Bull's current driver pairing is unfair, the first being his lack of experience at the Milton Keynes-based outfit compared to Verstappen. 

Verstappen has raced for Red Bull since the early stages of the 2016 season, and has had 10 seasons to understand how to extract the most from its cars. 

On the point of Red Bull's cars, Tsunoda believes it is not correct to compare him to his team-mate until he has the same version of the RB21, with the same upgrades as the reigning world champion.

Arguing why a comparison is unfair, Tsunoda added: "Because of, like I said, he's had nine years in the [Red Bull] car, and I'm just jumping into the car. Let's see if I get exactly the same car.

"Now, at that point, I can compare directly, but until then, I just focus on myself, because I know pretty well I can improve, and I just progress in my way, step by step.

"But a good thing about being with him, he's just able to learn a lot of things very quickly because he's done it. He does a lot of things that I've never done.

"He's always able to kind of be a good reference. I can confirm something when I try something. So, yeah, he's an impressive guy, and definitely I recognise that he's a good driver."