Yuki Tsunoda told what he must do on a ‘constant basis’ to be considered for a Red Bull F1 seat in 2026

Yuki Tsunoda will take on one of the toughest jobs in Formula 1 when he partners Max Verstappen at Red Bull from the Japanese Grand Prix.

The Japanese driver is the sixth teammate to go up against Verstappen since the Dutchman joined the team in 2016, after replacing Liam Lawson who only lasted two races.

Lawson suffered a disastrous start to the 2025 season, failing to make it out of Q1 on two occasions and crashing at the opening round in Melbourne. Red Bull’s Thai owners expressed their concerns over Lawson following the Chinese GP, with a summit held in Dubai which decided his fate.

Tsunoda will take over having been swapped with Lawson at Racing Bulls, although F1 Oversteer understands Red Bull has not ruled out swapping them again later in the year if they see fit.

To prevent that from happening, the Japanese driver must achieve one thing ‘on a constant basis’ according to BBC Sport journalist Andrew Benson.

Yuki Tsunoda must stay within 0.3s per-lap of Max Verstappen

The RB21 is a difficult car to get into a setup window and if Verstappen struggles usually it is even worse for his teammate, which means Tsunoda could face the same problems.

Red Bull has set out their expectations for Tsunoda, who is using this opportunity to prove to the team that they should keep him beyond the 2025 season.

“The fact remains that Red Bull have a minimum level of expectation for their second driver – and that’s to be within about 0.3 seconds a lap of Verstappen on a consistent basis,” wrote Benson.

“That’s what Tsunoda needs to do to convince Red Bull that he deserves to be considered as a contender for a seat in 2026.”

Will Yuki Tsunoda have a seat for 2026?

Tsunoda is out of contract for 2026 having chosen to extend his for a year with Racing Bulls last season, which includes the ability to be interchanged within the Red Bull group.

The Japanese driver has made it clear that his ambitions are to stay in F1, with Tsunoda eyeing a seat at Aston Martin who will be switching to Honda power units for 2026.

Without Honda-backing who are paying Red Bull several millions to have Tsunoda, the likelihood of him remaining at the Milton Keynes outfit is slim.

A seat alongside Verstappen allows him to prove that he deserves a long-term future in F1, although he will need to reach their minimum targets to have any chance of that coming to fruition.