Yuki Tsunoda reveals ‘very direct’ warning he’s received from Christian Horner before Red Bull debut

Yuki Tsunoda is looking to do what no F1 driver has since Daniel Ricciardo – beat Max Verstappen. The Dutchman has wiped the floor with each of his last four teammates.

In 2017, Ricciardo outscored Verstappen by 32 points as the two Red Bull drivers placed fifth and sixth in the championship. The latter was still a teenager at the start of that season, but Tsunoda goes up against him in his prime.

Verstappen is on a streak of seven straight seasons as his team’s lead driver – the longest on the grid. Tsunoda is already at a 33-point disadvantage this year after starting out at Racing Bulls.

But even if they remain together for 2026 – far from a certainty – there’s little reason to think the Japanese driver can overhaul him. His performances for Racing Bulls have been increasingly impressive, but Verstappen is an all-time great and Tsunoda has yet to show that kind of potential.

Christian Horner has reminded Yuki Tsunoda of the hierarchy at Red Bull

Speaking to the Japan Times, Tsunoda revealed the ground rules that team principal Christian Horner had set out ahead of his debut at Suzuka this weekend. Horner has made it very clear that Verstappen is the number one driver.

He doesn’t necessarily expect Tsunoda to move over if he’s ahead at any point, though that of course depends on the circumstances. Verstappen is currently eight points behind Lando Norris in the championship fight.

Red Bull lost out on a third straight constructors’ championship last year because of the gap between the first and second cars. They ended up slipping to third, 77 points behind McLaren.

Horner wants Tsunoda to take the same approach that was clearly working for him at Racing Bulls. The hope is that he can offer a useful new perspective on car development.

“He told me very direct that the first priority is Max, to do whatever they can to score a world championship for Max and also be as high as possible for the team championship,” Tsunoda said.

“I’m to support Max but at the same time, he just said to do whatever you’re doing with [Racing Bulls] and just perform and help the development for the car.”

How Max Verstappen privately felt about Red Bull signing Yuki Tsunoda last year

Red Bull ignored Adrian Newey’s advice with their 2025 F1 car, prioritising peak performance over driveability. Tsunoda has been on the simulator to prepare for the Japanese Grand Prix because he could still face an unwelcome surprise on track on Friday.

Verstappen put Red Bull in a ‘painful’ position by liking a post from Giedo van der Garde that accused them of ‘bullying’ Lawson. He opposed the driver change behind the scenes.

Even Helmut Marko admitted that Verstappen wanted Lawson to stay. His view was that the team should focus on their fundamental handling issues rather than pinning the blame on the second driver.

Going back to last year, Newey campaigned against the signing of Tsunoda over his concerns about his temperament. Verstappen wasn’t ‘crazy’ about the idea either, though he won’t expect to come under threat.