Yuki Tsunoda is now about to lose his final excuse for Red Bull struggles at the Canadian Grand Prix

Yuki Tsunoda initially justified Red Bull’s decision to demote Liam Lawson, but he now goes to the Canadian Grand Prix as the driver with the point to prove to save his seat.

The Milton Keynes outfit made the brutal decision to demote Lawson back to Racing Bulls in March after two rounds. He was the slowest driver in qualifying for the F1 Sprint plus Grand Prix in China, and Lawson frustrated Red Bull with his lack of progress adapting to the RB21.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner believed Tsunoda would also help develop their car and aid Max Verstappen in his defence of the F1 drivers’ championship. But the 25-year-old has so far only scored seven points in his seven rounds since moving over from Racing Bulls.

Now, Red Bull could release Tsunoda as soon as the 2025 summer break if the Japanese ace does not improve his results. He has just three top-10 Grand Prix finishes in the RB21 ahead of this weekend’s Canadian GP, having earned P9 in Bahrain plus P10 in Miami and at Imola.

Yuki Tsunoda will lose his final excuse by receiving Red Bull’s floor upgrade at the Canadian GP

Tsunoda will also lose his final excuse for being nowhere near Verstappen’s pace in the RB21 in Montreal. According to Motorsport-Magazin, the Milton Keynes squad have used the gap from the Spanish Grand Prix to the Canadian GP to give Tsunoda their upgraded floor again.

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Red Bull had to restore the Kanagawa native to their older floor specification at the Monaco and Spanish Grands Prix after Tsunoda’s crash in Q1 at Imola this May. He had only received the floor that Verstappen first used at the Miami Grand Prix for the Emilia Romagna GP, too.

But motorsport adviser Helmut Marko revealed that Tsunoda only lost ‘two to three tenths’ with Red Bull’s older specification parts compared to Verstappen at the Spanish GP. Yet the Japanese ace was the slowest driver in Q1 in Barcelona and 0.587s off the Dutchman’s lap.

His Q1 exit as Tsunoda asked Red Bull to check his floor during qualifying for the Spanish GP fearing he had yet more damage to his car raised alarm bells, too. He only set a 1:13.385, so Marko confirmed Red Bull would discuss Tsunoda’s ‘disappointing’ showing in Spain, as well.

Red Bull must see Yuki Tsunoda reduce his 0.692s qualifying deficit to Max Verstappen

Now, Tsunoda is out of excuses for being 0.692s slower than Verstappen on average during Grand Prix qualifying sessions since joining Red Bull in March. The Honda academy product was also the closest he has been to the Dutchman on his Red Bull debut in Japan at 0.498s.

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Tsunoda simply must show an improvement at the Canadian GP, where the Red Bull ace will also be making his 100th Grand Prix entry and hope to make his 97th race start this Sunday. If not, the threat of the axe will grow, with Red Bull set to release Tsunoda after this season.

Red Bull do not need Tsunoda to secure his first-ever podium finish in Montreal. But Horner and Marko will expect to see his 0.692s deficit to Verstappen in qualifying get reduced with their upgraded floor and after Red Bull used the gap to go through Tsunoda’s data with him.