YAS MARINA, Abu Dhabi — Yuki Tsunoda has expressed his disappointment after being dropped to a reserve driver role at Red Bull for 2026.
The Japanese driver, who was promoted to Red Bull from Racing Bulls at the third round of the 2025 season, will be replaced by Isack Hadjar next year, with Liam Lawson being joined by F2 driver Arvid Lindblad at Racing Bulls.
Although Tsunoda’s disappointing results at Red Bull meant the news of his demotion was anticipated, he said he only heard confirmation when Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko broke the news to him after last weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix.
“Obviously I’m disappointed, and p—-ed off,” Tsunoda said. “It was right after the race from Helmut [that I was told], privately, that I’m not racing next year so I think that’s it.
“Surprisingly I’m OK. I mean, not OK, but … the day after, the next morning, I ordered breakfast as usual, same food, and probably I’m not recognizing that it will be the last race at least for next year.
“So maybe I’ll feel more after Abu Dhabi but that’s how it went and how I feel now.”
Tsunoda was promoted from Racing Bulls ahead of this year’s Japanese Grand Prix after Lawson struggled to get anywhere near Max Verstappen‘s level in the Red Bull at the opening two races of the season.
Although his lack of performance in the notoriously tricky Red Bull car contributed to him losing his place on the grid for 2026, Tsunoda said his only regret from this season was not having more opportunities to prove himself in the more compliant Racing Bulls car.
“The only regret I have is missing out on that pretty good f—ing car in the VCARB but also it’s like throwing away your kids, your baby, because it’s the car that I developed with the team throughout the years since we had this regulation and I’m sure there’s my DNA inside as well,” Tsunoda said.
“So obviously missing out on that and finishing out without finally able to get in the level that we wanted is something that I missed, but at the same time I don’t regret that decision.”
Tsunoda also believes his performance relative to Verstappen was not as bad as it looked, especially once his car was in the same specification as his teammate.
“If you look at the whole season, maybe the second half of the season especially, if you just look at the result of where I was in Q1 and he’s consistently top three, top four, the result looked bad, but at the same time, if you just see the performance side even the times that I exited in Q1 I can’t remember last time I was four or five tenths behind,” he said.
“Once I got exactly the same car, I was very competitive with him and I think that’s what this seat was struggling at and actually I’m proud of myself, how I grew up and how I improved throughout the season.
“Max has been here for years now. He knows about this car, a lot of things. Obviously, I can’t deny that he’s the best driver on the grid but at the same time, I’m happy that I’m able to catch up quite quickly at this level myself, especially this very tight field this year is one of the tightest fields in history.”
