Helmut Marko has issued a glowing review of Yuki Tsunoda 's progress at Red Bull 's sister team.

Japanese star Tsunoda is in his fourth season as an F1 driver, racing again for the outfit now branded as Visa Cash App RB. The feeling was, though, that he was lucky to earn another year on the grid after failing to live up to the potential he showed in junior categories.

There were flashes of his true ability last year, particularly at the start and the end of the season. And at last weekend's Australian Grand Prix the 23-year-old performed excellently to secure seventh place.

In the early weeks of the new campaign, he has comprehensively outshone team-mate Daniel Ricciardo. The Aussie came into the season hoping to challenge for a promotion to the main Red Bull team, but so far has found himself in Tsunoda's shadow.

Ricciardo finished ahead in Bahrain but that was only because of a team order which failed to pay off. Otherwise, it is the Japanese racer who has been leading RB's charge on track.

And his performances so far have left Marko, the Red Bull adviser who has a significant say in their driver line-up decisions, very impressed. "Yuki is currently riding at a very high level - and remains error-free," the Austrian wrote in his Speedweek column.

"[Former team principal] Franz Tost and I always believed in him. His speed was always beyond doubt for us. His problems were lack of control, outbursts and proneness to errors. All of that is gone this season.

"Yuki came to Europe very young and that is very, very hard for a Japanese person. It's a completely different life for us. But now things are working and Yuki is being noticed on the driver market. His seventh place in Melbourne is important for the Racing Bulls. It's incredibly hard for the last five teams to finish in the points."

Next on the F1 calendar is Tsunoda's home race at Suzuka. Marko also used his column to announce that he will be joined by one of his compatriots in the first practice session of the weekend, with Ricciardo set to sit out the first hour of on-track action.

He added: "It will be a home game for Yuki. According to a recent survey, he is the most popular driver in the world among young people up to the age of 18. This could be something! On Friday we will use our young pilot Ayumu Iwasa in training, an All-Nippon team... The Suzuka track should suit the Racing Bulls car."