Red Bull fans were left longing for Sergio Perez after watching Yuki Tsunoda fail one ‘simple task’ at Imola

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The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix left Red Bull Racing with plenty to celebrate on their 400th Grand Prix start as a Formula 1 team.

Max Verstappen secured Red Bull’s 124th victory in F1 after a majestic move on Oscar Piastri going into the first chicane secured him the lead.

Fans loved Verstappen’s move on Piastri, but the rest of the race proved that Verstappen earning yet another win wasn’t a fluke.

He drove away from Piastri during that first stint, and when the Australian pitted, his teammate Lando Norris couldn’t close the gap.

Even a late safety car which saw Verstappen’s lead vanish couldn’t stop him, as he made full use of his new tyres to extend his lead over Piastri who had already pitted twice and had no fresh compounds to switch onto to try and challenge his title rival.

On the other side of the Red Bull garage, it was a much tougher weekend for Yuki Tsunoda.

Tsunoda had a huge accident in qualifying and started from the pit lane as his engineers and mechanics broke F1’s curfew to make the necessary fixes to his car.

He drove well to secure 10th and the final point at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, but it wasn’t the perfect race for Red Bull’s number two driver.

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Yuki Tsunoda critiqued for not playing the Red Bull team game in Oscar Piastri fight

Tsunoda didn’t pit until the virtual safety car was needed when Esteban Ocon retired, and that meant the early-stopping Piastri was soon on his tail.

On Sky Sports F1, (18/5 2:28 pm), Anthony Davidson said on commentary: “That could be a real problem for Piastri now and something that McLaren surely would have seen in their strategy.

“Coming through the final corner here, look how much better the exit is here for Piastri, it should be easy enough for him, but here we go.

“As they cross the line, the DRS now is open,” Harry Benjamin continued, “He’s defending but can he defend, this is why they have the number two driver there at Red Bull.

“Tsunoda will need to do all he can to keep Piastri at bay, but in the end, the current championship leader makes it look easy and gets that position.”

Talking about what could have been an important battle for Tsunoda on BBC Sport, Marc Priestley added: “Oscar Piastri made that [move on Yuki Tsunoda] look very easy.

“It will be frustrating for the Red Bull team to have given that instruction but there was literally nothing he could do which highlights that pace differential between the McLaren of Piastri and the Red Bull of Tsunoda.”

READ MORE: Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda’s life outside F1 from height to parents

Red Bull fans make Sergio Perez comparison as Yuki Tsunoda struggles in number two role

Tsunoda is the latest driver tasked with being Verstappen’s number two driver at Red Bull.

Liam Lawson only lasted a couple of races, and while Sergio Perez’s final year with the team didn’t go to plan, he was the Dutchman’s most reliable teammate.

Perez slowing down Lewis Hamilton during the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix played a key role in Verstappen winning his first title and many people made the connection between him and Tsunoda after witnessing the current Red Bull drivers’ inability to block Piastri.

One fan said, “When Tsunoda was asked to defend Piastri, I thought it was going to be some work to do for Piastri but it was so easy for him. But Perez was a gem as a wingman for Verstappen so many times. I know his performance was downgrading and hurting Red Bull but got to feel for the man”

Another supporter replied, “Tsunoda was given the simple task of holding off Piastri. If it was Perez I’d trust him, but it’s difficult for Yuki”

One comment read, “Perez instead of Tsunoda and Piastri would still be behind.”

“Piastri himself didn’t do anything “wrong”, but knowing how bad the McLaren was on the straight, I would have liked him to try to block Max, or do to him what Tsunoda tried to do to him later, even if it meant letting Russell past,” another fan said.

Tsunoda drew a comparison to Franco Colapinto on his Alpine debut which read, “The truth is, he [Franco Colapinto] did well; he held off Piastri longer than Tsunoda, and that tells you everything…”

Another fan really wasn’t happy with the 25-year-old and said, “The times that Tsunoda appeared on the stream were being overtaken (By Piastri, Leclerc, Hamilton, Etc.) The only time he wasn’t overtaken was once when he overtook Hulkenberg (A Sauber) then it is not even valid.”

Finally, one comment rather comically suggested, “You only have one driver, did you watch Tsunoda today? Piastri passed him like he was cutting cheese, with ease…”