Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda was ranked 18th in Pit Debrief’s 2025 F1 Drivers’ Rankings. Tsunoda enjoyed a strong start to the season with Racing Bulls. Despite this, a promotion to Red Bull in Japan saw the young Japanese driver become the latest victim of the now infamous second Red Bull seat.
Strong showings from Tsunoda in the Racing Bulls
Tsunoda started the 2025 season in strong form, comfortably out-qualifying his rookie Racing Bulls teammate Isack Hadjar. An impressive P5 qualifying performance in Australia caught attention. Despite running comfortably in the top 6 for the majority of the Grand Prix, a strategy error in mixed conditions saw the Japanese driver sadly finish P12.
His strong form continued in China however, undeterred by the Australian GP error, Tsunoda secured P8 in Sprint Qualifying. He managed to improve to P6 during the Sprint to secure his first 3 points of the season. Another strong qualifying performance saw him once again start inside the top ten. Yet another strategy blunder from Racing Bulls, exacerbated by a front wing failure, then saw Tsunoda finish last on the road.
An early promotion, and struggles for the main team
Despite his results not showing his true pace, Tsunoda’s first two weekends of 2025 earned him an early promotion. Starting from his home Grand Prix in Japan, Tsunoda would drive for Red Bull Racing alongside 4-time champion Max Verstappen.
It was immediately apparent that Tsunoda did not feel at home in the RB21. Qualifying in Suzuka saw the young driver only manage P15, one place behind Liam Lawson whose seat he had taken. Sunday didn’t fare much better for Tsunoda as he crossed the line P12, failing to secure points.
While he did manage to secure 2 points in Bahrain with a P9 finish, his Sunday performances were mixed at best throughout the remainder of the season. A mixed overall season sees Yuki Tsunoda ranked 18th in Pit Debrief’s 2025 F1 Driver Rankings.
Qualifying struggles
Qualifying proved a difficult task from Tsunoda following his promotion as he struggled to gel with the infamously difficult RB21. Despite standout performances such as P6 at the Azerbaijan GP, Tsunoda failed to progress from Q1 on 7 occasions.
Sprint Qualifying proved much the same battle for the Red Bull driver. With a P5 result in the Qatar GP Sprint Qualifying as an outlier, Tsunoda’ overall qualifying performances were poor.
When compared to his teammates, Tsunoda was comfortably beaten at Red Bull, while his Racing Bulls results suggest this was much to do with his struggles in the infamously hard to handle car. In the qualifying head to head, Verstappen whitewashed Tsunoda across the season. Tsunoda did manage to take one point back in Sprint Qualifying with his strong Qatar GP performance however.
More of the same on Sundays
Closely echoing his qualifying stats, Tsunoda’s Sunday results once again highlighted his struggles at Red Bull. In Grand Prix results, Verstappen bested Tsunoda 21-1, with a 3-1 final score in Sprints. Similarly, his results with Racing Bulls suggests this is at least partly down to his difficulties with the RB21.
The Azerbaijan GP and United States GP towards the end of the season showcased Tsunoda’s true pace. When comfortable with the car, Tsunoda is more than fast enough for Formula 1. Despite a number of sporadic points finishes throughout the year however, Tsunoda would end the year on 33 points to Verstappen’s 421.
Conclusion
Yuki Tsunoda endured a difficult season of highs and lows. From his announcement as a Red Bull Racing driver, his season was marred as he struggled to adapt. Becoming the latest driver to fall foul as Verstappen’s teammate, Tsunoda announced he will have no race seat for 2026.
While his 2025 results paint a disappointing picture, earning Yuki Tsunoda 18th in Pit Debrief’s Driver Rankings, much of his struggles can be attributed to the RB21. While the Red Bull car has long been considered a difficult car to drive, the RB21 proved poor at the best of times, with even Verstappen struggling at times throughout the year.
Despite these mitigating factors, Tsunoda was unable to prove his abilities at the top, unfortunately costing him a race seat for 2026 and finding himself ranked 18th.
