Damon Hill has got a ‘lot of love’ for Yuki Tsunoda following his comments after Red Bull snub

Racing Bulls driver Yuki Tsunoda is set to enter his fifth year as a Formula 1 driver but not with his preferred manufacturer.

After a positive 2024 season with RB – now Racing Bulls – Yuki Tsunoda would have helped he was in pole position for a promotion in the paddock.

Red Bull decided to drop Sergio Perez, meaning a spot had opened up alongside Max Verstappen for the first time since Tsunoda had been in F1.

After finishing with a better head-to-head record against Nyck de Vries, Daniel Ricciardo and Liam Lawson over the past two seasons, the Japanese driver looked like the best candidate for the role.

However, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner decided alongside the team’s shareholders and Helmut Marko that Lawson was the driver to go with.

It’s a decision that leaves Tsunoda in an awkward position, having signed a one-year contract extension at the Canadian Grand Prix for the 2025 campaign.

He was in extremely good form at this point and while points-scoring became more difficult as the year went on, much of that has to be put down to a failed update package RB delivered halfway through the season.

Damon Hill has now taken to Instagram to share his support for Tsunoda after reading his latest comments following his Red Bull snub.

The Japanese driver was very self-critical but still has faith that he’s got what it takes to race for Red Bull one day.

Damon Hill admits he’s got a ‘lot of love’ for Yuki Tsunoda after Red Bull snub

Tsunoda took responsibility for his image in F1 after his first season in the sport, where he became better known for his radio outbursts than his performances on the track.

It’s something he’s been working on ever since Tsunoda had a run-in with Ricciardo in Bahrain at the beginning of the season after being put on a slower strategy than the Australian.

Tsunoda was quoted as saying when asked about why he wasn’t promoted by Red Bull: “I just try to give them fewer excuses or reasons why I am not in the seat.

“So, I just focus on what I can control.”

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Hill responded to the 24-year-old’s comments and said: “Lot of love for Yuki.”

Tsunoda is very much a fan favourite, with many rooting for him as the underdog who some believe has unfairly been overlooked by Red Bull.

However, Horner’s reasoning for promoting the less experienced Lawson makes sense but does put a lot of pressure on the young Kiwi.

Why Red Bull promoted Liam Lawson over Yuki Tsunoda for the 2025 F1 race seat

Marko had wanted Lawson to replace Ricciardo for some time and finally got his wish after the Singapore Grand Prix.

It gave Lawson six races to prove he had what it takes to be a permanent Formula 1 driver, although it still hadn’t been decided whether that would be with Racing Bulls or Red Bull.

As explained above, Tsunoda had a better head-to-head record than Lawson, but that wasn’t an issue for Horner and Red Bull’s other senior personnel.

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Instead, they were impressed by how close Lawson was to Tsunoda after just a few races.

While he failed to outqualify the Japanese driver at any point, their race pace was nearly identical.

Horner had concerns about Tsunoda, and while Marko would have been happy promoting either driver, they only agreed on Lawson.

All eyes are on how he performs alongside Verstappen this year, with the Dutchman having a habit of destroying the confidence of whichever young driver is placed next to him within his team.