Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies defends Yuki Tsunoda
Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies has defended Yuki Tsunoda, highlighting the Japanese driver’s progress “step by step” despite a challenging 2025 season.
A difficult season for Red Bull
This season has proven to be one of the most complex in Red Bull’s history, both due to the departure of Adrian Newey (who joined Aston Martin) and the surprising mid-season exit of Christian Horner, as well as the challenges faced by Max Verstappen’s teammates. Initially, Red Bull had chosen Liam Lawson, but after just two races, he was replaced by Yuki Tsunoda, with Lawson returning to the junior Racing Bulls team in a swap involving multiple drivers.
Up to the Dutch Grand Prix, Tsunoda’s experience has offered limited rewards, with ninth place in Bahrain and Zandvoort marking his best results. These performances are incomparable to Max Verstappen’s, especially following the latest Dutch GP where rookie Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls driver, claimed his first F1 podium. This sparked speculation about a potential 2026 promotion of a Red Bull junior driver, which could see Yuki Tsunoda returning to Faenza.
Mekies supports Tsunoda
When asked what Tsunoda should do to avoid such a scenario, Laurent Mekies, Red Bull’s new team principal, defended the Japanese driver: “We don’t think speed can disappear,” he told Sky Sports F1. “Yuki had a strong finish to last season and a great start to this season with Racing Bulls. Of course, he faced a difficult period at the beginning of the season with this team, but we take it race by race. At Spa, he took a step forward. In Budapest, despite it being our worst weekend, he was still very close to Max in terms of pace. He was a tenth and a half behind Max in qualifying. Normally, being a tenth and a half behind Max would guarantee a front row. But in Budapest, it meant being eliminated in Q1. He is progressing step by step. We’re in no rush for 2026. We try to do our best to support our drivers and to support his progress.”
Preparing Tsunoda for the future
Looking beyond Yuki Tsunoda’s future, Mekies explained what the team is doing to help the driver feel more comfortable with the RB21: “The pure development focus of this team, like most others, is now on 2026. However, it’s essential that we use these remaining races to learn as much as possible about why this season has not gone as it should. Especially when you are not where you want to be, there are many things you can explore during race weekends, for both the team and the drivers, and that is the work we are doing with both.”
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