Red Bull’s history of promoting young drivers to its senior team follows a familiar script: optimism, confidence, and often harsh reality. In 2025, Yuki Tsunoda became the latest to experience that unforgiving pattern.
Initially overlooked when Red Bull selected Liam Lawson for its season-opening line-up, Tsunoda appeared to have missed his long-awaited chance. Lawson was viewed as the higher-upside option after showing promise during short stints with Racing Bulls in the previous two campaigns.
But Lawson’s Red Bull debut quickly unravelled. Early exits in qualifying in Australia and Shanghai, combined with a lack of points, prompted the team to act decisively. After just two race weekends, Tsunoda was called up, buoyed by a strong sixth-place finish in the Chinese sprint for the sister team.
Confident in his ability to handle Red Bull machinery, Tsunoda spoke positively about the aggressive front-end characteristics he believed would suit his driving style. Having adapted previously to Racing Bulls’ more understeer-heavy cars, he felt returning to a sharper setup would not pose a major problem.
In reality, the mid-season switch proved far more difficult. Tsunoda struggled to get close to team-mate Max Verstappen, trailing by an average of six tenths in dry qualifying sessions. Too often, he failed to progress beyond the opening segment of qualifying, suffering 10 Q1 eliminations and nine Q2 exits across 27 sessions.
Those qualifying struggles left Tsunoda constantly fighting from the back in races, limiting his scoring opportunities. Over the season, he collected just 30 points, while Verstappen amassed 385. Across 1,386 laps raced in 2025, Tsunoda spent only a small fraction running inside the top eight.
There were occasional bright spots, including sixth place in Baku and seventh in Austin, but they were outweighed by costly low points. One of the most damaging came at the Red Bull Ring, where a collision with Alpine’s Franco Colapinto saw Tsunoda finish two laps down.
Perhaps most concerning was Tsunoda’s inability to clearly identify the root of his performance issues. Repeated references to things feeling “strange” raised doubts about his understanding of the car and his path forward.
Ultimately, Red Bull made another ruthless call. Tsunoda was moved into a reserve role for 2026, with highly rated youngster Isack Hadjar promoted to the main team. Tsunoda has insisted his Formula 1 story is not over and remains determined to earn his way back onto the grid, but his future now appears increasingly uncertain and beyond his direct control.