The latest F1 Grand Prix, held in Miami, confirmed Helmut Marko’s doubts about the young Yuki Tsunoda, a Red Bull driver for just over a month, regarding his future in the top series.
After a chaotic Sprint and a hard-fought Grand Prix until the final lap, Yuki Tsunoda brought home just one point thanks to a 10th place finish. His performance failed to convince the Red Bull management, particularly advisor Helmut Marko. The reasons? The usual ones, according to the Austrian – namely the handling of pressure and mistakes at crucial moments.
The Miami weekend
Over the weekend in Florida, the Japanese driver struggled in Sprint qualifying, finishing only 18th. Red Bull chose to have him start from the pit lane in the Sprint Race, where he still gained three points thanks to penalties for Alex Albon and Oliver Bearman. However, in SQ1 Yuki Tsunoda was 1.293 seconds slower than Max Verstappen and even the rookie Isack Hadjar beat him by nearly 9 tenths.
In Sunday’s Grand Prix, Yuki Tsunoda fought until the last lap to maintain 10th place. He had a 5-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane, and Hadjar, closing in fast, missed the overtake by just 0.168 seconds, partly due to some late-race mistakes. It was a narrow escape for Yuki Tsunoda, but not enough to solidify his place at Red Bull.
For this reason, Helmut Marko told Austrian newspaper OE24: “Yuki is improving. He’s the first teammate who’s come close to matching Max’s performance. But under pressure, unfortunately, he still makes mistakes.”
Red Bull is therefore considering whether to continue betting on the young Yuki Tsunoda or to promote rookie Isack Hadjar, a 20-year-old Frenchman who has already collected 5 points in 6 races with Racing Bulls and increasingly looks like a credible alternative for 2026.
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