‘Terrible’ F1 driver now facing ‘question marks’ over his future after recent poor form surprised his team

The Formula 1 driver’s market is in a precarious spot with several drivers fighting to secure their place on the grid for next season.

There will be 22 cars on the grid at the beginning of the 2026 Formula 1 season and more than half of those seats are already filled.

However, there are several high-profile drivers yet to sign new deals, while a few teams might be wondering if they have the strongest pairing possible.

George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli are waiting to discover their fate with Mercedes showing an interest in Max Verstappen.

The Red Bull star is the most sought-after driver in the paddock even if he has a contract that runs until the end of 2028.

Flavio Briatore isn’t convinced by Pierre Gasly and his teammate Franco Colapinto is currently going into every race wondering if it will be his last before he’s replaced.

However, there’s another driver who might be under even more pressure right now.

Yuki Tsunoda’s promotion from Racing Bulls hasn’t gone to plan and he now faces questions over his long-term F1 future.

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

Red Bull ‘surprised’ by how far off the pace Yuki Tsunoda has been since his Racing Bulls promotion

Journalist Scott Mitchell-Malm was speaking on The Race’s YouTube channel about Tsunoda’s current predicament and said: “Yuki Tsunoda’s weekend can only be described as terrible. He qualified last in a car that was third-fastest in Verstappen’s hands, then laboured to 13th place in the race.

“The RB21 is a difficult car to get the best out of, and Tsunoda was also running the old specification floor as a result of his Imola crash at the start of the triple header.

“But the floor only explained one-tenth of the almost six-tenth deficit to Verstappen in Q1.

“What surprised Tsunoda was that he felt he was getting the most out of the car despite what he described as the core problem of sliding on both axles.

“There’s a bit of a disconnect between what Tsunoda’s trying to do in the car, emulating the driving style of Verstappen, and what Red Bull wants him to do by focusing on accepting a lower performance ceiling that’s more easily accessible.

“Tsunoda has now contested seven races and a Sprint since his sudden promotion to Red Bull and has scored just seven points.

“With Red Bull also surprised by his Barcelona struggles, there are inevitably question marks over his future given Isack Hadjar’s strong form for Racing Bulls continued with an outstanding drive to seventh place.”

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Yuki Tsunoda trying too hard to emulate Max Verstappen at Red Bull

Tsunoda is the latest driver finding it difficult to cope with the step up from Racing Bulls to Red Bull.

The likes of Gasly and Alex Albon have demonstrated that you can be a very capable F1 driver but not be capable of competing with Verstappen.

Red Bull’s most recent cars appear to have a step even further towards the Dutchman’s preferred set-up, making the lives of Tsunoda, Sergio Perez and Liam Lawson even more difficult.

Red Bull believe Tsunoda is trying too hard to emulate Verstappen’s driving style and think this is holding him back.

They would prefer that he reverts to what made him so quick at Racing Bulls, even if it means he’ll never hit the same peaks as the four-time world champion.

Something has to change soon as Tsunoda can’t afford to qualify last and miss out on scoring points again.