Helmut Marko names two ‘stupid mistakes’ that show Yuki Tsunoda isn’t Red Bull material

Yuki Tsunoda will feel he deserves a promotion to Red Bull for 2025. His fourth season at junior team RB has been his finest yet.

Tsunoda has scored 30 points this year, leaving him just five short of the top 10 in the drivers’ standings. He’s never previously finished higher than 14th.

But more impressive than that is his performance relative to his teammate. He beat Daniel Ricciardo so convincingly that the Australian lost his drive with a quarter of the season to go.

Red Bull expected Ricciardo’s replacement, Liam Lawson, to at the very least match Tsunoda. But across their four weekends together this year, the Japanese driver has doubled his points (eight vs four).

Lawson is yet to beat Tsunoda in a Grand Prix qualifying session, and the Honda-backed driver is picking up form just as Sergio Perez looks more vulnerable than ever. He qualified a career-best third for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix before finishing seventh in torrential rain.

In Las Vegas last time out, Tsunoda qualified seven spots ahead of Lawson (seventh vs 14th) and then added two more points to his tally with P9 in the race. Red Bull are finally giving him the opportunity to drive their car in the post-season Abu Dhabi test.

Yuki Tsunoda’s Brazil errors show he lacks ‘stability’, Helmut Marko says

Despite Tsunoda’s strong form, Helmut Marko has cast major doubt on his chances of partnering Verstappen. Speaking to Austrian outlet Kleine Zeitung, he explained that raw speed alone was not enough.

He’s concerned by the mistakes Tsunoda made in the dry running in Brazil. He was a lowly 17th in Sprint qualifying as Lawson reached Q3, and could only manage 15th in the Saturday race.

Marko felt they were ‘stupid’ errors that exposed his lasting weaknesses. Tsunoda’s ties to Honda helped him secure the seat, so the end of their partnership in 2026 raises doubts over his long-term future.

“He has now delivered two very good races in Brazil and Las Vegas,” Marko said. “Unfortunately, he made two stupid mistakes in Brazil before that. Yuki has the speed, but he lacks continuity and stability. But when it works for him, it works very well.”

The F1 legend who thinks Yuki Tsunoda should replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull

Tsunoda could join Aston Martin once the Red Bull-Honda deal ends. The manufacturer will supply the Silverstone outfit instead, so perhaps he’ll be a candidate to succeed the ageing Fernando Alonso.

Regardless, it’s increasingly clear that he needs to leave Red Bull. Even though he’s made clear improvements to both his driving and temperament this year, the hierarchy seems completely unmoved.

Jenson Button ‘would love’ to see Tsunoda at Red Bull but it looks highly unlikely. In fact, Williams driver Franco Colapinto may have a stronger chance.

Red Bull have held talks over Colapinto, who could either slot in at RB or jump straight to the top team. The latter outcome would be tantamount to an embarrassing snub for Tsunoda.