David Coulthard says 23-year-old driver ‘doesn’t fill me full of fear’ after Bahrain Grand Prix

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David Coulthard has suggested that even he doesn’t fear Visa Cash App RB driver Yuki Tsunoda despite having long since retired from driving in Formula 1.

It was a race to forget for RB with both drivers finishing outside the points, but fans will very much remember the Japanese driver’s outburst after the race and his actions on the cooldown lap.

Reviewing the race on Channel 4, Coulthard admitted that Yuki Tsunoda doesn’t look ready to step up to Red Bull.

Coulthard admits even he doesn’t fear Tsunoda

There was plenty of excitement surrounding the newly-named RB team heading into the opening race of the 2024 season.

They had shown good pace in pre-season testing and appeared to have bridged the gap between the bottom four teams and the upper midfield.

Daniel Ricciardo even topped the first practice session in Bahrain, but their performances in qualifying and the race itself failed to deliver.

Even after the driver switch in the closing laps between Tsunoda and Ricciardo, both drivers failed to get past Kevin Magnussen’s Haas which was widely tipped to be one of the slowest cars on the grid.

Coulthard has now suggested that he doesn’t fear Tsunoda and thinks Ricciardo should be doing a lot better against the 23-year-old.

He’s entering his fourth season in Formula 1 but has failed to score a podium and his performances are frequently too inconsistent.

Tsunoda needs to improve quickly otherwise one Red Bull driver – Liam Lawson – waiting in the wings will fancy his chances of returning to the grid.

Tsunoda already under pressure one race into 2024 season

Speaking about the RB team, Coulthard said: “I just think that Daniel’s a Grand Prix winner and Yuki Tsunoda doesn’t fill me full of fear and I’m a 52-year-old ex-racing driver.

“So, if Daniel wants to be in the Red Bull going forward then he’s got to be dominating Yuki Tsunoda.

“Do we really honestly feel that Yuki could go up alongside Max and scare him? I’m just commenting on what I’ve seen, that’s what I feel.

“We don’t need another number two within Red Bull to be blunt. What we need is someone who can go up alongside Max, that’s what Red Bull need for succession planning as well because Max won’t be around forever.”

If Coulthard doesn’t fear Tsunoda and fancies his chances against him even now, that’s a worrying sign.

The 23-year-old has admitted his dream is to race for Red Bull one day but that looks a long way off at the moment.

Rival Alex Albon joked before the season started that he would be a five-time champion in Alain Prost’s era due to his size.

He couldn’t be much further from that position in modern F1 right now.