Red Bull have now identified ‘disastrous’ scenario which could see Yuki Tsunoda dropped before the end of the season

When the chequered flag flew at the end of the Spanish Grand Prix, few teams would have been as frustrated as Red Bull Racing.

Max Verstappen had an incredibly eventful race, dropping from third to 10th during the final six laps of the race.

A gamble on a three-stop strategy ruined Verstappen’s tyre choices when a late safety car came out and his 10-second penalty for causing a collision with George Russell saw Red Bull walk away from the Circuit de Catalunya with a single point.

That’s because Yuki Tsunoda never looked like he was in contention to break into the top 10.

He set the slowest time in qualifying, highlighting the harsh reality of the 25-year-old’s situation at Red Bull.

Tsunoda appears to be facing a similar issue to Liam Lawson during his short stint at Red Bull, which will be ringing alarm bells among the team’s senior staff.

Christian Horner and Helmut Marko will be wondering what they can possibly do to help Tsunoda get up to speed.

Horner has ruled out Red Bull winning the constructors’ championship already and while Tsunoda doesn’t appear to be in immediate danger of losing his seat, he needs to find another level of performance quickly.

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Yuki Tsunoda’s Red Bull future analysed after worrying Spanish Grand Prix

Journalist Edd Straw was asked on The Race F1 Podcast how much patience Red Bull have with Tsunoda after another difficult race and said: “Well, Red Bull are very, very keen for him to at the very least get to the end of the season.

“They’d only change it in this season, as I understand it if there was just a disastrous run of races because they haven’t got very many options.

“So, they’ve certainly got patience to the end of the year. There’s a will for him to crack it.

“He did struggle this weekend and maybe the flexi-wing thing had an impact there if the balance was a little bit harder for the cars.

“His fault is not driving like Max Verstappen and not many people do because Max Verstappen is a great driver and it’s the classic thing, very good Grand Prix drivers can be made to look ordinary alongside all-time greats.

“It’s often happened and some of that’s what’s going on here.”

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What went wrong for Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda at the Spanish Grand Prix

Straw went on to talk about precisely why the Spanish Grand Prix went so badly for the Japanese driver and said: “Tsunoda did have some difficulties at the weekend.

“He didn’t seem to be quite at one with the car, he seemed a bit baffled by it as well.

“They did find a little bit of floor damage after qualifying as well and then in the race, his pace wasn’t very good.

But then again, he started in the pit lane and there wasn’t much clear air, so, it was a bit of a battle I think for Tsunoda.

“They’re patient, but I would say, certainly the run between now and the summer break, if it continues going the way it does, then they’re going to be thinking, well, 2026, there needs to be a change.

“And then it’s basically going to be a question of is it Hadjar that gets promoted or do they go outside because there are not very many options.”

Red Bull are worried about Tsunoda trying to copy Verstappen’s driving style as it’s preventing him from producing his best performances, even if they wouldn’t be on the same level as the Dutchman.

Isack Hadjar is considered Tsunoda’s most likely replacement, but Red Bull will be very reluctant to make that switch so early in his career.

A break in the schedule may help Tsunoda reset before the Canadian Grand Prix.

Almost exactly 12 months ago he was driving at such a high level that he earned a new contract at RB.

It shows how quickly things can change within the Red Bull set-up that he’s now under so much pressure.