Adrian Newey became a major obstacle to Yuki Tsunoda joining Red Bull after an incident which impacted Max Verstappen.

That is the claim put forward by Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko, who recalled how Tsunoda cost Verstappen victory at the Mexican Grand Prix and left Newey “furious”.

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With Sergio Perez vacating his Red Bull seat following the 2024 campaign, the team initially turned to Liam Lawson for F1 2025, but after just two rounds, have sent him back to Racing Bulls with Tsunoda finally getting his opportunity in the senior Red Bull team.

Red Bull’s decision to take Lawson – with just 11 grands prix of experience versus Tsunoda’s four seasons – raised eyebrows for some, and Marko would explain how Tsunoda, at the time of plotting who would replace the struggling Perez if he left, made a costly error that turned Newey into an opponent to him joining Red Bull.

Tsunoda was caught up in an incident with Williams’ Alex Albon and former team-mate Pierre Gasly at the 2024 Mexican GP start, a nightmare weekend for Tsunoda who had already crashed out of qualifying.

Newey announced his Red Bull exit ahead of the 2024 Miami Grand Prix, and joined Aston Martin in March 2025 as managing technical partner, also becoming a shareholder in the team.

“For a long time, Yuki had the image of not performing consistently and making silly mistakes here and there,” Marko told Kleine Zeitung.

“This happened last year in Mexico, for example, where the decision-making phase began for us. With Lawson, it was initially the exact opposite: he came and delivered immediately, no matter how much pressure there was. In hindsight, however, it wasn’t the right decision.

“In general, however, a lot can be attributed to a single incident. Tsunoda once drove into Pierre Gasly’s car there, and parts of the cars on the track subsequently damaged the underbody of Verstappen’s car, which caused him to lose the race.

“Adrian Newey was furious at the time. From then on, Yuki was a red rag to him. But now Newey is gone and Yuki has worked hard on himself.”

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Ahead of F1 2025, Lawson had moved up to Red Bull under the clear knowledge that he was there to support Verstappen’s push for a fifth straight Drivers’ Championship and to aid Red Bull’s bid to return to the Constructors’ summit.

Little changes on that front as Tsunoda arrives, but does Marko see a driver in Tsunoda who could one day handle number one status in F1?

“Yes, absolutely,” Marko confirmed.

“He came out of the winter break strong and delivered two great races in which only the strategy department prevented a better position.

“Yuki has changed management, has simply grown up – and he has a lot of self-confidence anyway.”

Marko added: “I’ve heard him say that he’s already expecting a podium finish in Japan.

“I would be happy if Max finished on the podium… But well, let’s wait and see.”

Tsunoda had made it be known at a Red Bull event in Aoyama that “I want to finish on the podium” in his Red Bull debut in front of his home crowd.

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