What\u2019s really behind F1\u2019s push for more Sprint races?<\/a><\/p>\nTsunoda\u2019s future at Red Bull Racing, then, seems very much in doubt, and the rumor mill was given even more fodder when the team\u2019s special advisor Helmut Marko told ORF before Dutch Grand Prix qualifying that the team will be making its F1 2026 line-up decision \u201caround Mexico.\u201d<\/p>\n
That leaves just four grands prix in which to prove himself.<\/p>\n
But speaking to media ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix at Baku City Circuit, Tsunoda has denied that he\u2019s feeling any outsized pressure, even if he understands that every race matters.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s the same as what I said previously,\u201d he said in regard to ongoing rumors.<\/p>\n
\u201cI heard today there are a lot of apparent speculation, but I was not really watching the media to pay attention. I don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe only thing I\u2019m thinking about is just staying at Red Bull for next year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tsunoda\u2019s confidence comes from the fact that he feels Red Bull has been able to address the ongoing issues with the RB21\u2019s long-run pace, and that the team has seen him improve.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe team worked hard to understand what\u2019s the issue causing the long-run pace and even actually in free practices, the things that we experienced is things that the team can\u2019t really explain,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the main thing, that\u2019s what we\u2019re struggling at. In terms of short run, very happy with it. I think the team are very happy.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s clear that I\u2019m showing that race by race I\u2019m getting closer to Max. I think that [I\u2019m] definitely showing well and definitely peopler are noticing in this team.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked directly about Marko\u2019s Mexico warning, Tsunoda replied, \u201cI\u2019m not really thinking much about the future to be honest.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery race is crucial this moment, that\u2019s true. But I just keep delivering the results, showing some brightness every race, and let them decide what they want to do.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe only things I\u2019m thinking about is staying with Red Bull next year, so I\u2019m not really thinking much on the situation of going back to Racing Bulls or whatever.<\/p>\n
But if that happens, I\u2019ll think about that, when that happens.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a team I stayed with for a lot of years, and I know the people, but at the same time, I moved on already to another chapter.\u201d<\/p>\n
Why so much speculation about Tsunoda\u2019s future? There are several reasons for concern, and his relative lack of performance in comparison to Verstappen is only one such factor.<\/p>\n
The F1 2025 season represents Red Bull\u2019s final year as a Honda-powered team. Heading into 2026, the team will partner with Ford under its Red Bull Power Trains banner to develop its own power units, while Honda has forced an allegiance with Aston Martin.<\/p>\n
Tsunoda\u2019s path to Formula 1 was propelled by Honda, with whom he inked a deal in 2016.<\/p>\n
The automaker had created something called the Honda Formula Dream Project, which is designed to support young racers on their way up the ladder to professional motorsport, and Tsunoda has been a longtime recipient of that program\u2019s institutional backing \u2014 something that is often required of young drivers looking to break into Formula 1\u2019s ultra-competitive and extremely limited driver market.<\/p>\n
That isn\u2019t to say Tsunoda\u2019s future in F1 is fully reliant on Honda, only to pinpoint an additional layer of uncertainty that will certainly be on his mind during these upcoming events.<\/p>\n
Rookie Isack Hadjar has been strongly suggested to be a candidate for Red Bull\u2019s second seat following his stunning podium finish at the Dutch Grand Prix.<\/p>\n
But the future of the team still remains up in the air.<\/p>\n
Read next:\u00a0Surprise declaration for FIA Presidency emerges as time ticks down for formal application<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Red Bull Racing driver Yuki Tsunoda has admitted that \u201cevery race is crucial\u201d in helping him determine his…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":153725,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[573],"tags":[64,63,817,813,816,818,44,17165,918,85,5077],"class_list":{"0":"post-153724","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-formula-1","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-f1","11":"tag-formula-1","12":"tag-formula1","13":"tag-home-page","14":"tag-news","15":"tag-popular","16":"tag-red-bull","17":"tag-sports","18":"tag-yuki-tsunoda"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153724","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=153724"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153724\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/153725"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=153724"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=153724"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=153724"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}