Red Bull address chance of Yuki Tsunoda F1 return after 2026 axe

Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies has backed Yuki Tsunoda to make a return to the F1 grid after being dropped for next year.

The Milton Keynes-based squad announced at the start of December that Isack Hadjar will join in 2026 alongside Max Verstappen, while Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad will fill out the seats at the sister Racing Bulls team.

It has left Tsunoda without a race seat for next year, although he will remain part of Red Bull as a test and reserve driver.

Explaining Red Bull's rationale behind its decision, Mekies told media including RacingNews365: “It has been a very difficult decision to take. The second seat at Red Bull is not an easy one.

“We have a tough car to drive. And of course, we have tried everything we could to support Yuki.

“At some stage, we had to make the difficult call between where we were seeing that going for the following years.”

Tsunoda has struggled for form across the campaign, having been promoted to the seat two races into the year to replace a struggling Liam Lawson.

Mekies highlighted the rapid switch as an indication of how quickly things can change in F1, and how quickly Tsunoda could return to the cockpit.

“I hope, and I think, that Yuki will get another chance,” Mekies said. “He will be the reserve driver with us next year. You never know what's going to happen.

“We have been quite famous in making fairly swift driver decisions in the past. I recall one moment — at the end of the 2024 season, Yuki was driving very well.

“It was very difficult for him to digest. Liam was getting the promotion in Red Bull Racing. He went into the winter thinking, was he going to get the chance one day or not?

“He came back, and we set ourselves with the team at the time the objective to maximise everything — to shoot for the stars.

“Three races after, he was driving in that Red Bull team. So you never know what the future holds. I'm sure everyone in this room and beyond has experienced setbacks — sometimes hard setbacks.

“That’s a setback for him. But I am confident that he has a lot in him that will allow him to have another opportunity.”