Japanese racer Yuki Tsunoda was promoted to Red Bull from Racing Bulls after just two grands prix in the 2025 Formula 1 season. His target was simple – score points and support the team in its fight against McLaren. But since making the move up, Tsunoda struggled to put together a clean race weekend, with crashes and disappointing finishes threatening his standing at the cut-throat outfit.
Tsunoda replaced New Zealander Liam Lawson at Red Bull after the rookie failed to live up to its lofty expectations. In his first two races for the team, the Kiwi crashed out and finished 12th, so all Tsunoda had to do was manage better than this.
He has, but only just. So far, his five race-stint with Red Bull earned him a best finish of 9th and he picked up only four world championship points. In contrast, team-mate Max Verstappen claimed two race wins and 88 points over the same five grands prix – not including sprints.
In Imola, the gulf between Verstappen and Tsunoda was plain to see. The Japanese racer crashed violently in the first stage of qualifying, with the damage meaning he would start the grand prix from the pitlane. Verstappen, in contrast, placed second.
“It was a big accident,” said Red Bull team boss Christian Horner at the Emilia Romagna GP. “The most important thing with that was that he jumped out of it OK.”
Car of Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Franco Nugnes
Tsunoda took full responsibility for the crash, which required a complete rebuild of his RB21, and he described the incident as “unnecessary” and “stupid”. The narrow nature of the Imola track meant the accident ruined Tsunoda’s chances of a strong result and left Verstappen fighting the leading McLarens without a wingman on side to support his, and the team’s, campaign for F1’s titles.
“The constructors’ is very much a long shot at the moment,” added Horner. “So, all our focus is on the driver’s.
“But having him [Tsunoda] in play, again, is really important. It’s a shame because he drove a good race today. If he’d have started in position, he would have been much further up. And hopefully that will come over the coming races.”
And to be fair to Tsunoda, he did run a good race in Imola. He climbed through the ranks to finish 10th on the road, picking up another point to add to his tally. Up to this point, the most positions the Japanese driver made in a grand prix was just two during his rise from 14th to 12th in Japan.
Horner’s praise after the Imola race was echoed by Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko, who said: “Congratulations! So next time without an accident” when he spied the Japanese driver in the paddock.
Tsunoda himself said the recovery drive was a step in the right direction for his confidence at Red Bull. But the racer admitted that he should have started higher up the order if he wanted to play the team game.
“Sometimes you have to step back and build the confidence gradually,” he said. “Because in this kind of environment, it’s easy to overpush and put myself under a lot of pressure. I have to rethink myself.
Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
“I’m happy that I was able to build up the confidence in the race. For sure, my progress is continuing. There’s still a lot of room to improve for sure.”
Tsunoda’s start with Red Bull hasn’t been an easy one. He joined the team with a baptism of fire at his home grand prix, before facing fearsome, narrow tracks in Saudi Arabia and Miami. Even with a return to purpose-built circuits like Imola, the Japanese driver had to contend with a tight track that was tough to pass on.
After races like this, and the results he achieved, Tsunoda needs a clean race weekend to prove to Red Bull that he is the step up the team expects. So far, incidents like his crash with Perre Gasly in Saudi Arabia and his finish outside the points in Japan aren’t helping his chances.
Thankfully, his strong recovery in Imola will have gone some way to calm any nerves Tsunoda or the Red Bull bosses may have – but his next race in Monaco could be the real test of his confidence in the car.
The tight city streets, close walls and lack of runoffs mean that mistakes are quickly punished in the principality. What’s more, an out-of-position Red Bull will find it difficult carving through the pack on the narrow circuit, no matter how comfortable the driver is feeling at the wheel.
Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team VCARB 01
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Tsunoda is adamant that he “moved on already” after his Imola crash, which is evidenced by his strong race day performance. But the Japanese racer admitted that there was “something still in my head” after the crash, which may not bode well for his hopes of a clean race in Monaco – a grand prix that Horner described as “the most confidence-requiring race”.
Confidence in the car and learning the quirks of the RB21 isn’t the only cause for concern for Tsunoda, as incidents like his crash in Imola also hit Tsunoda’s allocation of spares for the season.
The rebuild in Imola required a new survival cell and floor, which was a new spec that had only been added to Tsunoda’s car a day before the crash. What’s more, the rebuild warranted a raft of engine parts, including the internal combustion engine, turbocharger, MGU-H, MGU-K, energy store and control electronics.
Use of these parts is capped over a season, meaning that Tsunoda could find himself on the receiving end of a grid penalty further down the line. If those penalties start coming just as he gets to grip with his new team, the young racer may never realise the promise Red Bull held for him.
