Yuki Tsunoda has opened up about losing his seat at Red Bull next season, the limitations of his current contract, potential opportunities as a reserve driver, any regrets he harbours, the impact of his Imola crash on the remainder of his 2025 campaign, and his overall growth as he gears up for the F1 Abu Dhabi GP this weekend.
Since receiving his much-awaited call-up to the championship-winning squad earlier in the year, Tsunoda has been unable to meet Red Bull’s expectations, having finished inside the top ten on only ten occasions, including three Sprint races.
The 25-year-old scored 30 of his 33 total points alongside Max Verstappen, having struggled to even remotely challenge the Dutchman in the tricky RB21. He currently sits in a lowly fifteenth place in the Drivers’ standings after 23 rounds.
As a consequence, Isack Hadjar has secured a promotion from Racing Bulls to the senior team for the 2026 F1 season. Meanwhile, Tsunoda will remain as Red Bull’s test and reserve driver next year.
Tsunoda disappointed but hasn’t fully processed the loss of his Red Bull seat yet
Speaking in his print media session ahead of the F1 Abu Dhabi GP, Yuki Tsunoda shared his candid sentiments about the Red Bull demotion and how he had received the news. Expressing his disappointment, the Japanese driver revealed that veteran advisor Helmut Marko had conveyed the information to him following Sunday’s race in Qatar.
Surprisingly, Tsunoda also admitted that he is handling the setback pretty well for the time being and that he would probably experience the full depth of his emotions once he bids farewell to his active F1 career in Abu Dhabi.
“Yeah, obviously I’m disappointed and pissed off. It [receiving the news] was right after the race [in Qatar], from Helmut [Marko]. Yeah, he told me privately that I am not racing next year. That’s it.
“Surprisingly I’m OK. I mean, not OK, but… the day after, the next morning, I ordered breakfast as usual, same food, and probably I’m not recognizing that it will be the last race, at least for next year. So maybe I’ll feel more after Abu Dhabi, but that’s how it went and how I feel now.”
How Tsunoda’s current Red Bull contract restricted him
With regard to whether he had any options to land an F1 seat outside the Red Bull family in 2026, Yuki Tsunoda disclosed that his contract had prevented him from entertaining opportunities elsewhere.
Highlighting how he had sought to secure his long-term future with the Milton Keynes outfit, the 25-year-old also added that he never really concentrated his efforts on joining the roster of a different team.
“Well, I didn’t have options. The thing is, my contract was there, so I couldn’t do much with that. I had a couple of interests from externally, but the contract didn’t really allow me to talk with them or whatever.
“So yeah, that’s why I was really focused on the Red Bull seats. Anyway, it was my priority for the last few years to be with the Red Bull family, because it’s the place where I grew up. Yeah, that’s it.”
Tsunoda on new perspective and potential opportunities as Red Bull’s reserve driver
In terms of whether the journeys of Alex Albon and Valtteri Bottas, who stayed in F1 as reserve drivers and eventually re-secured full-time seats, are a source of motivation, Yuki Tsunoda commented that he is looking forward to seeing the world of racing through a different lens in 2026.
Furthermore, the Sagamihara native proclaimed that he is keen to maintain his peak physical form and embrace new knowledge that would allow him to capitalise on opportunities in the future.
“I’m excited to see from a different perspective, different eyes next year, because it’s the first time in my career that I’m not racing. I was not really sitting down in the office while people are racing.
“I can refer to it this way, I can see more of the view and see what every driver is doing.
“So maybe I can learn a lot of things that I never imagined; so I’m excited for that. I’ll also try to be in this shape as much as possible. Whenever any opportunity comes, I’ll smash it. Until then, keep my shape good and wait for it.”
What Tsunoda regrets and what he doesn’t
When asked if he harbours any regrets about receiving the promotion to Red Bull and how his 2025 F1 season has panned out, Yuki Tsunoda confessed that he only rues missing out on driving the solid VCARB 02 for more races.
Highlighting how his work on the simulator throughout the ground effect era had contributed to the development of the current Racing Bulls car, the Japanese racer elaborated that he laments being unable to help the project reach its utmost potential. At the same time, he added that he doesn’t regret his decision to join Red Bull ahead of the Japanese GP back in April.
“Probably I was saying that I didn’t have any regrets. The only regret I have is missing out that pretty good f***ing car, you know? The VCARB. But also throwing away your kids, your baby.
“Because it’s the car that I developed with the team throughout the years, since we have this regulation, and I’m sure there’s my DNA inside as well.
“So, you know, obviously missing out that, and finishing out without finally being able to get in the level that we wanted, is something that I miss. But at the same time, I don’t regret that decision, I would say.”
Impact of Imola qualifying crash on the rest of Tsunoda’s season
Earlier in May, Yuki Tsunoda had an enormous accident in the early minutes of qualifying at Imola and fell at the Q1 hurdle. He slid off the track at high speed, launching into the barriers and flipping over before thankfully hopping out of his massively damaged car.
As for whether that crash was the key point where his 2025 F1 campaign started to go awry in terms of receiving timely updates, Tsunoda admitted heading into the Abu Dhabi GP that the avoidable incident is still a source of frustration for him.
Nonetheless, emphasising the pitfall of looking at a single session in isolation, the 25-year-old noted how his performances considerably improved once Red Bull equipped his car with the same upgrades that Verstappen carried.
“The Imola [crash] is for sure something that I look back at that frustrates me a lot still, because the crash I had was very unnecessary… but also for sure, that made me take a back step in terms of the parts.”
“But at the same time, if you look at the whole season, you know, maybe the second half of the season especially, maybe if you just look at the result of exiting Q1, and you know, it’s consistently top 3, top 4.
“The result looked bad, but at the same time, if you see just the performance side, you know, just even the time that I exit Q1, I can’t remember the last time I was behind him [Verstappen] 4 tenths and a half, or 5 tenths and a half. Once I got exactly the same parts, I was very competitive with him.”
Tsunoda proud of his growth
Hailing the Dutchman as the best driver on the current F1 grid, Yuki Tsunoda nevertheless commended himself for the adaptation and growth he has demonstrated since his switch to Red Bull. He particularly singled out his progress in qualifying, where the field is incredibly close this year.
“Actually I’m proud of myself for how I grew up, and how I improved during the season.
“Obviously, I can’t deny that he’s [Verstappen] the best driver on the grid. At the same time, I’m happy that I was able to catch up quite quickly at this level myself. Especially this very, very tight field, you know, this year is one of the tightest fields in history.”
Asked what his best and worst races of the season were, Tsunoda responded, “Best race was I think Qatar Sprint race, if I can include that; otherwise, my worst race was Austria.”
