Yuki Tsunoda’s Formula 1 future was decided long before the official announcement dropped this week. Red Bull confirmed Isack Hadjar will step up to the senior team in 2026 while Liam Lawson keeps the Racing Bulls seat, leaving the Japanese driver without a race drive for the first time since 2021.
His final races have actually shown some of his best form of the season, but it proved too little, too late. A stronger second half from Lawson – helped by a crucial front-suspension upgrade – sealed Tsunoda’s fate.
Speaking openly ahead of what will almost certainly be his last Grand Prix start in Abu Dhabi, Yuki Tsunoda insisted he has no bitterness about chasing the Red Bull dream that finally materialised just before his home race at Suzuka. What he does regret, deeply, is having to walk away from the Racing Bulls car he helped shape over years and that felt like an extension of himself.
“People keep asking if I have regrets – I always said no, but honestly there is one,” Yuki Tsunoda admitted. “My only regret is losing that f***ing awesome car I had at Racing Bulls. It’s like throwing away your own kids, your baby. That car has my DNA in it – I developed it with the team from the very first day of these regulations. I’m 100% sure of that.”
“I miss leaving it behind and not being able to finish what we started. At the same time, I don’t regret the decision to move up. I would still do it again today.”
The RB21 simply never clicked for him in the same way. Where the Racing Bulls machine was forgiving, predictable and often the class of the midfield in the opening rounds, the senior Red Bull felt narrow, twitchy and unforgiving – classic traits of a car built around Max Verstappen’s unique style.
Tsunoda was told the news face-to-face by Helmut Marko on Sunday night in Qatar. The reality still hasn’t fully sunk in.
“I probably haven’t realised yet that this will be my last race,” he said. “Maybe it will hit me more after Abu Dhabi.”
Several frustrating episodes defined his difficult campaign. None more costly than his qualifying crash at Imola, which destroyed parts and forced Red Bull to prioritise Verstappen’s title fight. For multiple races afterwards Tsunoda ran older-spec components.
“Imola still frustrates me a lot,” he reflected. “It was a stupid crash, completely avoidable. It definitely set me back on parts. But if you look at the whole season, especially the second half, once I finally had exactly the same car as Max I was very competitive against him. I’m proud of how much I grew and matured. You can’t deny he is the best driver on the grid, but I’m happy I managed to get close to his level so quickly.”
The timing of Red Bull’s decision also slammed the door on any potential escape. Yuki Tsunoda revealed other teams had shown interest, but his contract contained clauses that prevented him from even opening talks.
“My contract was there, so I couldn’t do much,” he explained. “There were a couple of teams interested, but it literally didn’t allow me to speak to anyone else. That’s why I was fully focused on Red Bull. It has always been my priority anyway – this is where I grew up.”
For now Yuki Tsunoda stays inside the Red Bull family as reserve driver, keeping himself sharp for whatever 2027 might bring. After four intense years, hundreds of swear words on team radio and some spectacular drives, the likeable Japanese racer bows out of the race seat with his head held high – and with one very loud, very honest regret ringing in his ears.
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