Yuki Tsunoda Defends Red Bull Stint as F1 Exit Looms: 'I've Done What I Could Do'
Yuki Tsunoda is standing firm in his defense of his Red Bull career as he faces the prospect of leaving the F1 grid at the end of the current season. Despite a challenging start, Tsunoda believes he has made significant strides and is ready to challenge the notion that he's a struggling driver.
RacingNews365 reports that Tsunoda's replacement at Red Bull will be Isack Hadjar, while the sister team Racing Bulls will keep Liam Lawson and promote Arvid Lindblad. Tsunoda's future has been uncertain since his struggles began early in the season.
He currently ranks 15th in the drivers' championship, while his teammate, Max Verstappen, is on the cusp of securing his fifth drivers' title in the final race in Abu Dhabi. Despite the challenging position, Tsunoda remains optimistic.
"I've done what I could do," Tsunoda told media, including RacingNews365. "Especially in the last four races, the team gave me a lot of support, and I was able to drive an almost identical car to Max's."
Tsunoda highlighted his recent improvements, noting that he consistently performed well in practice sessions and even outpaced Verstappen on multiple laps. He mentioned the Las Vegas race, where he struggled in qualifying due to external factors beyond his control.
"I proved a lot of things," he said. "Since I had an identical car, I was always within two or three-tenths of Max. In Las Vegas, I was consistently fast in FP1 to FP3, and there were multiple laps where I was ahead of him. Qualifying in Las Vegas was a shame, but I was still three-tenths behind. Three-tenths is usually enough to qualify in the top five."
Tsunoda joins a list of drivers, including Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, Sergio Perez, and Liam Lawson, who have faced similar challenges alongside Verstappen. However, he argues that his performance improvement over the season has been more significant than that of his predecessors.
"I'm showing what I can do," he said. "I don't think any other driver has consistently driven this close to Max's pace, especially considering the last few years. I haven't seen many drivers perform like this, step up in the middle of the season, and navigate through very difficult moments, especially at the beginning of the season."
Tsunoda is determined to support Max Verstappen in the upcoming race, emphasizing that his pace is there and that there's not much more he can do with the second seat. He invites fans to stay tuned for the Formula 1 action and encourages them to download the 2026 F1 calendar for easy access to the schedule.
