Helmut Marko slams Red Bull ace for 'ruining' rival's lap as duo's noses put out of joint

believes ruined his and team-mate last laps during qualifying at the Mexican Grand Prix. The ruthless Red Bull advisor claims that the Japanese driver is feeling the pressure after Lawson's arrival at VCARB.

Tsunoda and Lawson are effectively competing for a place alongside Max Verstappen at Red Bull, with Sergio Perez under increasing pressure. Marko absolved Tsunoda of the blame for his Turn One exit in Mexico, after colliding with Alex Albon and crashing out just seconds into the race.

But the 81-year-old was unhappy with a qualifying crash that he felt also impacted Lawson, with the 24-year-old spinning and preventing his colleague from competing for Q3. Marko wonders if Tsunoda is struggling with the pressure of going up against the New Zealander.

"After a very good start, Yuki could have made up five places straight away, but unfortunately it didn't go well," Marko wrote in his Speedweek column. "But you can't blame him for that.

"The spin in [qualifying], on the other hand, was doubly annoying because he not only ruined his own lap, but also Lawson's. I think Yuki feels the pressure from Lawson - there is no other explanation for this mistake."

Meanwhile, Marko did not hold back when assessing Perez's performance in his home race. The 34-year-old needs to significantly improve to be sure of keeping his Red Bull seat, where he has underwhelmed next to Verstappen. Lawson is placing huge pressure on both Perez and Tsunoda.

Perez has been told that his Q1 exit was "very disappointing" and has been accused of being "too impetuous" in his battle with Lawson. The driver fumed with the rookie during Sunday's main race, with the VCARB racer responding by raising his middle finger.

"Sergio Perez had a bad weekend in Mexico," Marko continued. "We know that qualifying is not his strong point, but being eliminated in the first qualifying segment is very disappointing.

"The fact that a man with his experience would then position the car incorrectly in the starting box is incomprehensible and a real shame. Because his start was sensational. Checo received a five-second penalty for the starting offence.

"This was followed by a fight with Liam Lawson, in which both drivers were too impetuous. Liam even gave his opponent the finger; he later apologised for this, and we accepted that.

"Unfortunately, this battle resulted in considerable damage to Perez's car - with significantly reduced downforce, Sergio's car was no longer fast enough to do anything."