Mekies proud of Tsunoda development: 'Hopefully it surprised Red Bull'

Mekies on Tsunoda's performance

First of all, Mekies was asked about Tsunoda's performance this season. Does the Japanese driver impress him as much in recent weeks as he did earlier in the season? "Yuki qualified P7 last week in the dry, he qualified P3 the week before in Brazil in the wet. So of course, if you look at the driver's performance, it's very much followed the team's performance through the year," Mekies said.

"We had a slow start and a fantastic string of races and a more difficult time when we hit some issues with our development. And then finally, we managed to put the car back in the right window for this final part of the season. And the drivers' results have been following that. But when I see Yuki again performing at that level, like he did in the last few races, it was all together an outstanding season from his side. I think he has made a step this season that nobody could forecast. It's something he should be proud of."

Will Tsunoda move to Red Bull?

Tsunoda will start testing for Red Bull Racing in Abu Dhabi in just over a week. Mekies was asked about whether Tsunoda is ready for a move to bigger Red Bull. The Frenchman is convinced. "I think he’s ready to get a faster car. We hope to provide him with the fastest car but I think he is ready for a faster car, faster team and bigger team."

"It’s very important for our drivers to get a chance into the bigger team, into our brother team. It's one of our key DNA aspects for this team; to be able to grow our drivers and to make them attractive enough so that Red Bull Racing want to have them. So we are very happy that you have this test and I'm confident he will perform well," he continued.

Mekies: 'Hopefully also a surprise for Red Bull Racing'

"All I can tell you is that the steps he has been doing this year have been, I think, a surprise to everyone. Hopefully the surprise has also been for Red Bull Racing. I think we are in a business where everybody looks at the results. The second the driver starts to perform or to outperform compared to the expectations, then everybody will then change their opinions very, very fast. So I think for Yuki, it's all about continuing to perform at a mega high level on the track. We are all very quick to change our mind as soon as we see a guy performing. I think it's good news for the sport," he concluded.

This article has been created in collaboration with Matt Gretton