Follow us on Google Discover Yuki Tsunoda doesn’t know where or if he will be racing in Formula 1 next year as Red Bull mull over their options.
The Japanese driver has had a nightmare season in 2025 and sits just 17th in the drivers’ championship in what is clearly a front-running car. Teammate Max Verstappen is challenging for the title in a similar machine, proving that it does have potential.
It’s hard to see Red Bull continuing with him, considering that his lack of speed may end up costing them two positions in the constructors’ standings. Tsunoda has had plenty of time to figure things out, but hasn’t been able to reach a solid conclusion.
Tsunoda is not capable of winning a championship, according to Jamie Chadwick, who thinks that the time has come for him to lose his seat. Red Bull’s Tsunoda judgment is already made, and now he awaits confirmation of their decision ahead of the next race in Brazil.
Photo by Mark Sutton – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty ImagesYuki Tsunoda’s final F1 back-up vanishes as Aston Martin sign Jak Crawford as 2026 reserve
Guenther Steiner can’t see the positives in Tsunoda, but the lack of other options is a big reason why a decision on his future hasn’t been made earlier. Isack Hadjar is the favourite to replace him, but there’s an outside chance he gets retained if the team don’t want to interfere with the Frenchman’s development.
F1 fans think Liam Lawson will be at Racing Bulls, which means that Tsunoda is set to be without a seat at all next year. Heading into the 2026 F1 regulations, it looks as though he will need to be patient if he wants to find a way back onto the grid.
He’s backed by Honda, whose partnership with Red Bull ends at the conclusion of this season, giving them another reason not to keep him. The Japanese manufacturer is embarking on a new adventure with Aston Martin, and it was thought that Tsunoda might have a chance of a seat or reserve role with them.
However, the Silverstone-based outfit have just announced that Jak Crawford is their 2026 F1 reserve driver, closing off another one of Tsunoda’s options. It’s looking increasingly like he will have to race in another series next year, if he wants to keep himself track-ready.
READ MORE: Why Yuki Tsunoda is unlikely to get the same second chance at Racing Bulls as Daniel Ricciardo
Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty ImagesDid Yuki Tsunoda just waste his last chance to prove to Red Bull that he deserves an F1 seat?
By failing to score points at last weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix, Tsunoda might have missed his last chance to prove that he still deserves a Formula 1 gig.
He didn’t really do anything of note all weekend and yet again showed why he isn’t capable of being Verstappen’s back-up.
If ever there was a time for him to show up, it was at the event where his team insisted that they would be making a decision on his future.
Now that the deadline has passed, there is little he can do to show them otherwise. Tsunoda’s fate is out of his hands.