‘Surprise’ F1 driver could now be released after summer break despite £17m deal for their seat

Only 14 drivers are currently signed up for the 2026 Formula 1 season when the grid will also expand to 22 cars, yet one racer is even fighting to keep their seat this year.

Aston Martin, Audi, Ferrari, Haas, McLaren and Williams are, at least on paper, not due to be involved in the F1 driver market for next term’s grid. Alpine, Cadillac, Mercedes, Racing Bulls and Red Bull, on the other hand, have at least one spot on offer in their 2026 driver line-ups.

Alpine could also not be alone in possibly having a vacancy to fill later in the 2025 F1 season. Franco Colapinto’s five-round deal with Alpine after replacing Jack Doohan now has just two races left, with the Argentine fighting for his drive at the Canadian and Austrian Grands Prix.

Red Bull could now release Yuki Tsunoda after the 2025 F1 summer break

F1’s upcoming visits to Canada, Austria, Great Britain, Belgium and Hungary might even now prove vital for Yuki Tsunoda keeping his drive at Red Bull beyond the summer break. The 25-year-old only joined the Milton Keynes squad seven rounds ago, but is struggling to impress.

So, Luis Vasconcelos, the F1 insider for Auto Action, now reports he ‘would not be surprised’ if Red Bull release Tsunoda after the summer break. The Japanese star is ‘under pressure’ to prove his place, having so far scored just seven points since Tsunoda replaced Liam Lawson.

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

Red Bull are having to weigh up Tsunoda’s future as Max Verstappen’s teammate, as he only has three top-10 Grand Prix finishes to date with them with P9 in Bahrain plus P10 in Miami and Imola. Tsunoda also got P6 in the Miami Sprint for three of his seven points for Red Bull.

His form at Red Bull’s junior team, Racing Bulls, and experience to help to improve the RB21 were also not the only reasons why Tsunoda replaced Lawson prior to the third round of the season. Honda is paying Red Bull upwards of £17m for Tsunoda to drive for their main team.

Yuki Tsunoda’s lack of points is destroying Red Bull’s F1 constructors’ title hopes

Tsunoda must now show a quick improvement to save his seat as Red Bull have proven they are not afraid to change a driver quickly, with Pierre Gasly axed after 12 races in 2019. They are also not afraid to promote a rookie early as Alex Albon moved up after 12 races, as well.

The emerging threat of the Kanagawa native losing his seat after the summer break has also proven the greater pressure the Honda academy product faces. Red Bull were set to release Tsunoda after the 2025 F1 season, having also finished just P17 in Monaco and P13 in Spain.

Hopes were far greater in Milton Keynes at first when he replaced Lawson, as team principal Christian Horner called Tsunoda ‘quite a surprise’ after joining Red Bull as he impressed with the level of his feedback. But his feedback is still not yielding anywhere near enough points.

Tsunoda believes he can beat Verstappen once the Japanese ace, now in his fifth F1 season and with 99 Grand Prix entries to his name, feels totally at ease in Red Bull’s car. But his lack of points puts Red Bull fourth in the F1 constructors’ standings and 218 points off McLaren.