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.<\/p>\n
Tsunoda is acting as Red Bull\u2019s reserve driver in F1 2026 after losing his race seat to Isack Hadjar at the end of last season.<\/p>\n
Yuki Tsunoda escapes burning Red Bull in San Francisco show run<\/p>\n
Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google<\/a> to your favourites list for news you can trust<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Tsunoda, who attended last week\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Analysis: F1 2026 testing in Bahrain<\/p>\n F1 testing conclusions: Bring back V10s, fresh Aston Martin hope, secret Ferrari weapon<\/a><\/p>\n F1 2026 vs 2025: Bahrain lap-time data delivers rule change verdict<\/a><\/p>\n However, he was forced to make a quick escape after his car \u2013 the RB7 driven to F1 title success by Sebastian Vettel in 2011 \u2013 caught fire.<\/p>\n Footage filmed by a fan showed smoke emerging from the rear of the Red Bull after Tsunoda had come to a stop (below).<\/p>\n \ud83c\udfce\ufe0f\ud83d\udd25#RedBull<\/a> car catches #fire<\/a> during Yuki Tsunoda\u2019s demo run in #SanFrancisco<\/a><\/p>\n 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.\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/kjjUuhGIfh<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 News.Az (@news_az) February 22, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n With flames appearing, spectators are heard shouting at Tsunoda to \u201cget out\u201d of the cockpit.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Tsunoda, who is also acting as Racing Bulls\u2019 reserve driver in 2026, is expected to target a return to a full-time race seat for the F1 2027 season.<\/p>\n Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp<\/a> to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.<\/p>\n You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel<\/a> for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!<\/p>\n Read next:\u00a0Stefano Domenicali reveals F1 weighing up 2027 global season launch return<\/a><\/p>\n