Securing a season\u2019s best P6 in Baku, Yuki Tsunoda has given Red Bull more to think about ahead of its F1 2026 driver decision with Laurent Mekies adamant the team is no rush to make a decision.<\/p>\n
Although days ago it looked as if Tsunoda\u2019s hopes of retaining the Red Bull seat were over after Isack Hadjar secured two top-ten results on the trot, including a podium at Zandvoort, Tsunoda threw his name back into the hat with his performance at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.<\/p>\n
Red Bull in \u2018no rush\u2019 to decide Yuki Tsunoda\u2019s future<\/p>\n
The Japanese driver has struggled to adapt to the RB21, and scored just nine points in his first 14 races with the team.<\/p>\n
He seemed to reach a turning point in Baku, reporting \u201cnow it makes sense\u201d after showing good pace in the long runs on Friday.<\/p>\n
Tsunoda<\/a> followed that up with a sixth place in Sunday\u2019s 51-lap grand prix where he held off a late charge from Lando Norris to secure his best result as a Red Bull driver.<\/p>\n Team principal Laurent Mekies said it was Tsunoda\u2019s \u201cbest\u201d race with the Milton Keynes squad, and highlighted his pace in comparison to race winner Max Verstappen.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s his best race with us this year,\u201d Mekies said. \u201cI think he was strong in qualifying; he was very strong in the race. <\/p>\n \u201cYou know the clever guys will get the number right, but he was sometimes two, sometimes three, sometimes four-tenths away from Max. And Max was pulling away from everyone with that pace, so it was very, very serious pace. <\/p>\n \u201cWe thought he will have to defend very hard against McLaren and Ferrari to help with Max chasing the win, and he didn\u2019t have to defend. <\/p>\n \u201cHe was actually there on merit and, and Lando stayed behind him and didn\u2019t put much pressure on him. So it\u2019s his best, not only result, but also race pace with us.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was really the one thing we wanted that probably was the most important for us to get that sort of clean sample, we said last time. And I think he was listening, and it\u2019s good.\u201d<\/p>\n Key talking points from the Azerbaijan Grand Prix<\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49 Azerbaijan GP conclusions: Piastri SOS, Lando\u2019s big problem, Max\u2019s post-Horner wavelength<\/a><\/p>\n