Tsunoda finished seventh in the Miami Grand Prix last weekend. This helped RB stay in sixth place in the team rankings. His teammate Daniel Ricciardo came fourth in Saturday’s sprint race.
Ricciardo had been struggling to keep up with the pace of the car this year. Meanwhile, Tsunoda took the lead as the team’s top driver in the first five races. He scored points in Australia and got a tough point in Japan.
RB boss Mekies praised Tsunoda for his big improvement in his fourth season.
“Yuki has improved a lot this year. He got better from year one to year two, and from year two to year three. But the improvement he’s shown from year three to year four is huge,” Mekies told Motorsport.com.
“Now he’s not just fast, which we already knew, but he can go through a whole weekend without making any mistakes. He did it in Australia, he did it in Japan, and he almost did it in Miami too.
“He’s improved a lot, and we think there’s more to come. We’re working hard to create an environment where he can keep improving. We’re really impressed with his work.”
Tsunoda also showed more maturity this year, which was important after some emotional outbursts in his earlier years in F1.
“He’s getting better at handling the tough times,” Mekies said. “China was a good example. He handled it calmly, and then he did well in Miami.
“So yes, he’s made a big step forward. It’s a big part of our success now, and we believe he can do even better.
“You can hear it in his radio messages. He’s improving both on and off the track.”
