Red Bull reserve driver Yuki Tsunoda was forced to make a quick escape after an F1 car caught fire during a demo run in San Francisco.
Tsunoda is acting as Red Bull’s reserve driver in F1 2026 after losing his race seat to Isack Hadjar at the end of last season.
Yuki Tsunoda escapes burning Red Bull in San Francisco show run
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The Japanese driver struggled against Max Verstappen after being promoted to a Red Bull seat after two races of 2025, scoring points in just seven of his 22 appearances for the senior team.
Tsunoda, who attended last week’s pre-season test in Bahrain with Red Bull, returned to the cockpit of an F1 car for the first time since the final race of last season in a demonstration run in San Francisco on Saturday.
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However, he was forced to make a quick escape after his car – the RB7 driven to F1 title success by Sebastian Vettel in 2011 – caught fire.
Footage filmed by a fan showed smoke emerging from the rear of the Red Bull after Tsunoda had come to a stop (below).
🏎️🔥#RedBull car catches #fire during Yuki Tsunoda’s demo run in #SanFrancisco
Yuki Tsunoda was forced to jump out of a Red Bull Racing car after it caught fire during a show run in San Francisco, marking his first public appearance since leaving Formula 1 at the end of 2025.… pic.twitter.com/kjjUuhGIfh
— News.Az (@news_az) February 22, 2026
With flames appearing, spectators are heard shouting at Tsunoda to “get out” of the cockpit.
After unfastening his seat belts and standing up, Tsunoda turns to look at the blaze before calmly stepping out of the car as response vehicles arrive on the scene.
Tsunoda made 111 F1 starts after making his debut with Red Bull sister team AlphaTauri (now Racing Bulls) in 2021, scoring a total of 124 points across five full seasons.
His best result came at the final race of his first season in Abu Dhabi, where he finished fourth after a late safety car period.
Tsunoda, who is also acting as Racing Bulls’ reserve driver in 2026, is expected to target a return to a full-time race seat for the F1 2027 season.
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