F1 | Tsunoda finds his smile again and targets Verstappen after Dutch GP
With ninth place at the Dutch Grand Prix, Yuki Tsunoda returned to the points. The Red Bull driver now has clear goals for the next races on the Formula 1 calendar.
Tsunoda had not scored points since the Emilia Romagna GP back in May 2025. Since his promotion to Red Bull to replace Liam Lawson, the Japanese driver has never managed to match or come close to Max Verstappen’s results. At Zandvoort, even if still far from his teammate, he finally succeeded in finishing inside the top ten.
After the Dutch GP, Yuki Tsunoda spoke about the work done at Red Bull that helped him regain some confidence. The former VCARB driver also revealed the personal targets he has set himself for the coming rounds.
Tsunoda sets his sights on Verstappen
In qualifying for the Dutch GP, Yuki Tsunoda secured twelfth place on the grid. During the race at Zandvoort, the Safety Car was deployed three times, making his afternoon even more complicated. The Japanese driver admitted: “The safety car didn’t help. At one point I was down in 15th place. Even the second safety car didn’t help at all.”
Despite the difficulties, Yuki Tsunoda refused to give up and climbed his way back into the points: “In the end I finished ninth and I’m really happy.” The Red Bull driver added: “Normally a ninth place is not that special, but especially after seven races in this situation, I think it’s something special for me and it gives me a bit of confidence.”
Yuki Tsunoda thanked the entire team for the effort put in over recent weeks: “I think especially in the last three races the team has pushed me a lot to extract performance from the car and that has helped a lot.” Looking ahead, his goal is clear: “Thanks to the huge support, now it’s up to me to adapt as much as possible, score points and be as close as possible to Verstappen.”
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