Yuki Tsunoda, currently 18th in the championship with 10 points—seven of which were earned after taking over from Liam Lawson at Red Bull—has not been excluded from the team‘s plans for next season. Helmed by motorsport advisor Helmut Marko, the team confirmed that decisions regarding their driver line-up for 2026 will be finalized later this year. Marko emphasized that the evaluation occurs after the summer break, with all options still open as the team assesses both positive and negative aspects of driver performances.

Recent Race Difficulties Contrast with Signs of Improvement for Tsunoda

Tsunoda’s recent run has seen him go scoreless in seven consecutive races. At the Hungarian Grand Prix, he finished 17th after starting from the pit lane due to a power unit change taken post-qualifying, where he had placed 16th. Despite this setback, Red Bull remains optimistic about his development, noting that he was only a tenth of a second behind rivals in qualifying before being eliminated early.

Marko explained that strategically, the decision to change Tsunoda’s power unit and brake cooling setup before the Hungarian event made sense, especially since overtaking is challenging there. This was preferable to a potentially more problematic penalty later at high-speed circuits like Monza or Zandvoort.

Encouraging Practice Performances Highlight Tsunoda’s Potential

During the Hungarian weekend, Tsunoda’s pace in practice sessions was notable; he posted lap times three-tenths faster than Max Verstappen in Friday runs and was within a tenth in Q1. Red Bull’s team principal Laurent Mekies described this as possibly Tsunoda’s best performance to date. Mekies also credited the driver and his engineering team for the progress made, particularly citing improvements shown at the Belgian Grand Prix.

Tsunoda Sees Progress Closing the Gap to Verstappen with Recent Upgrades

The Japanese driver himself has acknowledged steady progress since the introduction of a key floor upgrade at Spa. He expressed cautious optimism, highlighting that on paper, he is now only a tenth off Verstappen’s pace. Tsunoda also suggested that few other drivers could match this closeness to the leader.

Mid-Race Setbacks and Communication Issues Impact Results

During the Hungarian race, Tsunoda suffered a loss in performance due to damage sustained when a gurney flap detached from his front wing, which he cited as significantly affecting his car’s grip and race strategy. Additionally, Tsunoda pointed to ongoing communication challenges within the team as a factor undermining his ability to capitalize on opportunities, a concern repeated in both the Hungarian and Spa Grand Prix weekends. He expressed frustration with back-to-back incidents and emphasized the need for improvements to avoid similar issues in the future.

Focus on Reflection and Improvement During the Summer Break

Looking ahead, Tsunoda intends to use the summer hiatus to analyze problems encountered and work diligently with his team to reverse recent trends. He stressed the importance of not beginning the season’s second half on the same footing as the first and maintained a positive outlook for a stronger comeback.

“Our driver evaluation traditionally takes place after the summer break,” —Helmut Marko
“At the moment, everything is open. We’re looking at performances – both positive and negative.” —Helmut Marko
“He was as near as never before, one-tenth he was behind,” —Helmut Marko
“But unfortunately, he was dropped out in Q1. He’s moving up.” —Helmut Marko
“Because he would have to change at maybe Monza or Zandvoort. And I think because of his starting position, it was strategically better to do it here,” —Helmut Marko
“After also some progression in Spa, I think it’s something that he and his engineering team have been doing a very good job at.” —Laurent Mekies
“Looking back on the season so far, I can feel pretty positive, we’ve made progress, especially since the new floor upgrades were brought to Spa,” —Yuki Tsunoda
“The gap with Max continues to close. It may not feel like we are getting there but on paper we are only one tenth off his pace. I’m not sure many other drivers could get as close to him.” —Yuki Tsunoda
“That cost us a lot of pace and worsening grip, so we then lost the ability to make a positive strategy call that would benefit us.” —Yuki Tsunoda
“Also, something we can improve a lot communication-wise is that if I was fighting for the points, there was a situation that could cost quite big,” —Yuki Tsunoda
“It has happened the last two weeks, the last two races back-to-back in a row so it is starting to get very frustrating with that. Something we have to improve a lot and fight hard the second half.” —Yuki Tsunoda
“We need to investigate where we went wrong and put in some hard work over the summer break so that we don’t start the next half of the season how we finished this one,” —Yuki Tsunoda
“It’s frustrating, but we will stay positive and bounce back stronger.” —Yuki Tsunoda

With the decision on Red Bull’s 2026 driver line-up still pending, the summer break will provide crucial time for Tsunoda to prove his value and build on the encouraging strides already made. How he responds to recent challenges and capitalizes on upcoming opportunities may shape his future with the team as they weigh performance and potential for the seasons ahead.