Nico Rosberg identifies ‘inexplicable’ problem plaguing Red Bull’s second drivers

Despite securing one of his best-ever starts at the Italian Grand Prix, Yuki Tsunoda still trailed teammate Max Verstappen by a hefty margin during the final qualifying session.

While much has been said about the curse of Red Bull’s second seat, former F1 champion turned pundit Nico Rosberg is wondering exactly what’s preventing the Japanese driver from accessing the same pace as his teammate.

The “inexplicable” Red Bull second driver problem

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

The Italian Grand Prix field is set, and at the front of the field is a familiar face, albeit one who has taken a step backwards during the F1 2025 season: Max Verstappen.

The Dutch driver snagged a record-breaking pole lap in the very final moment of qualifying, usurping a fast lap just set by McLaren’s Lando Norris. It was a phenomenal showing of strength from one of the greatest Formula 1 drivers of this generation.

But where was Yuki Tsunoda?

The Japanese driver set the 10th-quickest time in qualifying; he’ll start from ninth courtesy of a grid drop by Lewis Hamilton.

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It’s one of Tsunoda’s better starts of the F1 2025 season, but it nevertheless has former Formula 1 champion Rosberg wondering what, exactly, is going on at Red Bull during the post-qualifying Sky Sports broadcast.

After it was pointed out that Tsunoda was trailing his teammate once again in a scene familiar to any driver piloting the second Red Bull, Rosberg demanded answers.

“This has been years now, and once again, Yuki today is more than seven tenths behind Max Verstappen,” he began.

“That’s inexplicable — like I don’t understand, because Yuki is great. He knows how to drive a racing car. How is it possible he’s just so far behind once again?

“It’s crazy that they can’t find a solution to that.”

While allowing for the fact that Tsunoda’s car “is not 100 per cent the same as Max Verstappen,” Rosberg rejected the idea that it could be seven-tenths slower.

“Maybe it’s a tenth or something,” he said.

“I feel for Yuki, because this is, again, a really, really tough day.”

For his own part, Tsunoda told media that he felt he could have performed better had he been able to take advantage of a slipstream.

“In Q3, I wasn’t able to have slipstream,” Tsunoda told media

“Traditionally at this kind of track you want to have a bit of circulation and slipstream. I had to lead the pack in Q3, which is kind of opposite to what I want.

“But in the end, overall, I’m happy with the performance. Being in Q3 was the thing I wanted for a long time and overall I’m happy with it.”

Further, it represents one of his most promising starts at the Italian Grand Prix — an event that has long plagued Tsunoda. In his four previous outings, he’s twice failed to start, once retired, and once finished — albeit in 14th, outside of the points.

Rosberg, though, has gotten to the heart of a major talking point swirling around F1 for some time: What is going on at Red Bull? Why is it only Max Verstappen who is able to outperform his teammates? Is it simply impossible to defeat Verstappen? It’s a question without an answer.

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