Red Bull are now ‘likely’ to repeat one Sergio Perez decision with Yuki Tsunoda that makes no sense

Yuki Tsunoda convinced Red Bull to pull a U-turn after rejecting him to replace Sergio Perez with Liam Lawson, but he is now the latest to struggle next to Max Verstappen.

The 25-year-old started the 2025 F1 season with a point to prove after Red Bull left Tsunoda at Racing Bulls and promoted Lawson in December after deciding to release Perez. But they quickly came to regret it and Tsunoda replaced Lawson at Red Bull after a mere two rounds.

Red Bull gave Lawson the nod to replace Perez as Helmut Marko questioned if Tsunoda had the right mentality to be Verstappen’s teammate. Yet the 23-year-old qualifying P20 for the Shanghai Sprint and Chinese Grand Prix this March forced Red Bull to rethink their line-up.

Tsunoda, however, is now the one at risk after failing to score a point in the Monaco Grand Prix and Spanish Grand Prix. The streets of the Principality saw the start of Perez’s downfall one year ago and are now helping to force Red Bull to react amid Tsunoda’s want of results.

Red Bull are ‘likely’ to offer Yuki Tsunoda a ‘golden handshake’ to leave after the 2025 F1 season

Perez crashed with Kevin Magnussen at the start of the 2024 Monaco GP and never secured another top-five finish for Red Bull through the following 16 rounds. His plight also included crashes in Canada and Azerbaijan, along with P17 finishes in Great Britain and Mexico City.

Tsunoda finished the 2025 Monaco GP in P17 and only achieved P13 in the Spanish GP after starting from the pit lane, having also qualified in P20. Now, questions are growing about his future in Milton Keynes, and Motorsport.com reports the writing might even be on the wall.

READ MORE: Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda’s life outside F1 from height to parents

It is said that Red Bull are now ‘likely’ to offer Tsunoda the same ‘golden handshake’ that the team gave Perez to void his contract for the 2025 season. Team boss Christian Horner gave the 35-year-old a new deal last June as his old terms were set to lapse, yet came to regret it.

Perez cost Red Bull their defence of the F1 constructors’ championship after scoring just 152 of their 589 points. Tsunoda is now primed to repeat history, having scored just seven points in his first seven rounds at Red Bull. The team also now trail McLaren by 218 points this year.

Red Bull have no reason to offer Yuki Tsunoda the same payoff as Sergio Perez to leave

It is not only Tsunoda’s lack of points since replacing Lawson at Red Bull that has already put the Kanagawa native under pressure. Red Bull technical director Pierre Wache rues Tsunoda being too far off Verstappen’s pace, having also been 0.692s slower on average in qualifying.

Plans are even taking shape to potentially replace the Honda product at the end of this year. Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar is Red Bull’s No1 choice to replace Tsunoda for 2026, having already scored 21 points this term and each has come since Red Bull’s driver swap in March.

READ MORE: Helmut Marko’s seven best quotes about Sergio Perez

But one aspect of Red Bull’s potential plan makes no sense at all, as there is zero reason why they have to give Tsunoda the same ‘golden handshake’ they gave Perez to end his contract. Red Bull paid Perez circa £8.5m to leave, but Tsunoda does not have a contract for next year.

Racing Bulls triggered their option in Tsunoda’s Red Bull contract worth just £1.5m to extend it by one year for the 2025 season last June. His deal gave Red Bull the right to swap Lawson out in March, but they did not decide to offer Tsunoda a longer contract beyond this season.

So, there is zero reason why Red Bull would now need to pay Tsunoda off if they release him at the end of the 2025 F1 season, as is expected. The only reason they would have to deliver a golden handshake would be if Red Bull were to release Tsunoda amid the 2025 campaign.