The question many have been asking in recent days now has an answer: it will be Yuki Tsunoda completing Red Bull’s lineup for the 2025 season after convincing the team with a solid performance in Japan.
The 24-year-old driver was called in to replace Liam Lawson after just three races into the season, just in time for his home Grand Prix in Japan, at Suzuka.
However, Yuki Tsunoda’s debut driving the Red Bull didn’t go as hoped, finishing the race in 12th place. From the start, the race weekend, which saw an improbable victory for Max Verstappen, was a struggle for Tsunoda. During Saturday’s qualifying session, he was eliminated in Q2. The situation didn’t improve much during the race, leaving the Japanese driver with no points.
Despite a lackluster result, Yuki Tsunoda showed maturity and intelligent driving, which secured him a seat for the rest of the 2025 Formula 1 season.
Helmut Marko, when asked by Austrian broadcaster ORF, stated that Yuki Tsunoda would remain alongside Max Verstappen at Red Bull until the end of the season. The Milton Keynes team doesn’t plan to make any further changes during the 2025 F1 season and instead wants to bet on the Japanese driver.
Marko: “Tsunoda is determined, wants to go head-to-head with Max Verstappen”
However, it wasn’t only Yuki Tsunoda’s talent and determination that convinced Red Bull, as Marko explained. From the first free practices, the Japanese driver was able to stay much closer to Max Verstappen than Liam Lawson had managed.
What convinced them the most, however, was Yuki Tsunoda’s request to have the same technical setup as Max Verstappen, to race on equal terms. According to Helmut Marko, Yuki Tsunoda’s desire to approach the car setup in a similar way to the Dutch driver means that Red Bull’s latest driver pairing fits better than the previous one.
“Yuki is actually satisfied with Max’s setup. They have the same preferences, so they fit well together,” Marko said. “Of course, it’s important for us to have two cars scoring points,” he added, referring to Yuki Tsunoda’s poor performance over the weekend.
However, Marko went on to highlight how well the Japanese driver had performed until qualifying, despite the limited preparation he had been given.
“The first race went quite well. In practice and qualifying, he was always two or three tenths away from Max, until he was eliminated,” said the 81-year-old – “It’s a good result when you don’t have much time available, so yes, Yuki will finish the season at Red Bull.”
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