Yuki Tsunoda has been getting used to a different F1 role in 2026 \u2013 the Japanese driver taking on reserve duties for Red Bull and sister outfit Racing Bulls after losing his full-time race seat at the end of the 2025 season.<\/p>\n
During the recent Chinese Grand Prix weekend, Tsunoda sat down with F1.com for a lengthy chat about that transition, how he reflects on his career in the top echelon to date, and his desire to get back on the grid\u2026<\/p>\n
One year ago, Tsunoda<\/a> was gearing up for a long-awaited Red Bull<\/a> promotion on home soil at Suzuka, having been drafted in to replace Liam Lawson<\/a> after just two rounds of the 2025 campaign. \u201cIt can\u2019t get crazier than this,\u201d he told us<\/a> at a demonstration event in Tokyo, shortly before hitting the track alongside Max Verstappen<\/a>.<\/p>\n However, eight tricky months later, and despite a big effort from driver and team to make the situation work, Tsunoda got moved aside in favour of Red Bull\u2019s next prospect, Isack Hadjar<\/a>, leaving the 25-year-old to come to terms with a stint on the F1 sidelines.<\/p>\n It means that, for the first time in five years, Tsunoda is not part of the racing action. Instead, he is supporting Red Bull as a reserve driver \u2013 taking part in debriefs, spending time in their simulator, and generally acting as another pair of eyes and ears for the squad.<\/p>\n Tsunoda\u2019s F1 rollercoaster ride<\/p>\n With Tsunoda free to reflect on everything he has experienced over the last few years, away from the stresses of racing every other weekend, it seems like an appropriate moment for the man himself \u2013 in a quiet corner of Red Bull\u2019s hospitality unit at the Shanghai International Circuit \u2013 to review the journey to this point.<\/p>\n \u201cIt started very well \u2013 almost too well,\u201d Tsunoda comments, looking back on his F1 debut at the 2021 Bahrain Grand Prix. \u201cIn the pre-season test I was P2 overall<\/a>, just a few milliseconds off Max, in an AlphaTauri. Then in the first Qualifying session, Q1, Lap 1, I made it through on one set of tyres, and I was next to Lewis [Hamilton]. I felt like a hero!<\/p>\n \u201cI got knocked out in Q2 after that, as I swapped to the medium tyres and didn\u2019t adapt well, but I still scored points in the race, recovering to P9 after almost dropping to last because of a bad start. So, my first race went really well.\u201d<\/p>\n It was a debut that earned plenty of praise from established paddock figures. Then AlphaTauri Team Principal Franz Tost<\/a> added: \u201cI must say he really did a fantastic job. We told him his aim was to come back from the first lap with a healthy car to be able to run his race, and that\u2019s exactly what he achieved. I think we can look forward to the season ahead with him.\u201d<\/p>\n As that rookie season progressed, though, Tsunoda found it difficult to balance his undeniable raw speed with consistency \u2013 further points finishes being surrounded by expensive accidents, early Qualifying exits and missed opportunities in races.<\/p>\n While he steadied the ship and finished the year with another standout run to fourth at the Abu Dhabi finale, questions remained over Tsunoda\u2019s approach, temperament and fitness levels heading into his second season, as detailed in this feature<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it was my third year, in the second half, when I started to feel like, \u2018Okay, I\u2019m in good shape\u2019,\u201d Tsunoda admits, in terms of everything starting to click. \u201cI then thought, \u2018What\u2019s the next step?\u2019, which would be the team leader role, being in a responsible position, and being someone the team can rely on.<\/p>\n \u201cFor that step you need emotional control, which was probably one of my weakest points when I started in F1. At the track, there was a lot of emotion from me to the guys on the radio, and to the engineers. Initially it was okay, but it started to get a bit too much, and especially with a responsible role you want to give feedback rather than sharing emotions.<\/p>\n \u201cI almost had to change my personality. It took a little bit of time, but I think from the fourth year, in 2024, I adapted pretty well. I was able to achieve the level that I wanted to be at in terms of emotional control, and I had a strong season.\u201d<\/p>\n Red Bull promotion and demotion<\/p>\n Indeed, then Racing Bulls<\/a> team boss Laurent Mekies<\/a> described Tsunoda\u2019s 2024 campaign as \u201coutstanding\u201d<\/a> and his most complete to date, putting him firmly in the frame for a long-awaited Red Bull promotion \u2013 only for new team mate Lawson to pip him to the job.<\/p>\n As it transpired, Tsunoda took over that Red Bull seat just two rounds later, with Lawson struggling to make an impact alongside reigning World Champion Verstappen, and the Sagamihara native impressing in a compliant Racing Bulls machine he had played a key role in developing.<\/p>\n \u201cIn 2025 I had the best start of any season \u2013 I was P5 in Qualifying in Australia, and I was P6 in the Sprint in China,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s a generation of car that I\u2019d spent three years in, and part of it, for sure, was coming from my DNA. I gave a lot of feedback, and how the car was made was mostly how I requested it to the team. It was a stunning car.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I\u2019d stayed at Racing Bulls, it probably would have been my strongest season, but at the same time, I had a good opportunity to move to Red Bull. It was the moment I had been waiting for \u2013 for a long time. It was also very, very special to jump in at my home Grand Prix in Japan\u2026 Definitely the biggest highlight in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n Tsunoda started his Red Bull chapter with three points finishes from the first four races he completed, including bonus Sprint points in Miami, but a huge Qualifying crash at Imola \u2013 where his 2021 season had gone awry \u2013 wrote off a host of new car parts and forced him onto older specifications.<\/p>\n A negative spiral and a run of seven rounds outside the points followed, and while he made it back into the top 10 places in the Netherlands, Azerbaijan, Austin and Qatar, Tsunoda was simply too far away from Verstappen \u2013 something experienced by many before him \u2013 to hold onto the drive beyond 2025.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter Japan, it was definitely the toughest season in my career, and in my life,\u201d he shares. \u201cBut at the same time, I learned quite a lot about myself, I went through a lot of things\u2026 I think as a human I grew a lot more, like personality-wise.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously you\u2019re always exhausted after a race, and in the weeks when you don\u2019t have a race, normally you want to kind of enjoy it and have a reset. When I was trying to do that last season, I just felt emotionally super down, and I didn\u2019t know where it was coming from.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought, \u2018Okay, this is something I have to change\u2019. I needed some external help to be happier, and to learn about myself. It was recognising that, actually, I didn\u2019t know much about myself, because if I think about what will make me happy outside of racing, and what things will consistently give me positive energy\u2026<\/p>\n \u201cI started to think about myself, and definitely, without that season, it wouldn\u2019t have given me that kind of solution.\u201d<\/p>\n On call \u2013 and eager for a return<\/p>\n It is a mindset shift that helped Tsunoda deal with his eventual demotion \u2013 \u201csurprisingly, it was okay\u2026 I felt normal\u201d \u2013 and the confirmation that he would be on reserve duty, rather than returning to a Racing Bulls race seat, in 2026.<\/p>\n While there are no guarantees of getting back behind the wheel of a real-life F1 car, it has not stopped Tsunoda readying himself for any opportunities that could come his way over a Grand Prix weekend or via in-season testing.<\/p>\n \u201cI actually still prepared for the season quite a lot physically,\u201d he points out. \u201cNow is probably the best shape I\u2019ve been in in my life… I think physically, in terms of numbers, it\u2019s even better than last year. I\u2019m definitely happy with my shape, and I just need some laps for my muscles to get used to driving again.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes I feel a little bit weird doing this kind of preparation and training, knowing that I\u2019m not racing. But anything can happen. That\u2019s what I also got told by the team. I\u2019ve prepared as much as possible, I\u2019m in the best shape, and my mental [approach] is always, \u2018Okay, if the team asks me to jump in, make sure I perform\u2019, and that\u2019s it \u2013 just being ready.\u201d<\/p>\n So, with his reserve role taking shape, how does Tsunoda feel about the year ahead \u2013 and what about his chances of one day making a full-time return?<\/p>\n \u201cI think showing my face, not just at Red Bull but in the general paddock, is quite important,\u201d he adds. \u201cI want to still\u2026 I\u2019m not giving up on driving in F1. Rather than going to other series and racing\u2026 That\u2019s also partly good, because you\u2019ll be sharp, but at the same time, you don\u2019t know what\u2019s going on in F1 very much.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was pretty tough to watch, actually, the race week in Australia. Watching from the screen was definitely something\u2026 different. I was okay at the Bahrain test, but race week was a different story, and it was really tough. At the same time, I was able to recognise how much I care about this sport, and how hungry I am to get back in a seat.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I\u2019m not thinking too much about the future, because it\u2019s not in my control. It\u2019s more always thinking about how I can extract the [most from the] day, even the day that obviously you\u2019re not in the best position. For example, watching from the screen is not the best position, but you can still do something.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m also focusing on myself, to be in a place that I\u2019m happy with. When you\u2019re in an F1 season, you can\u2019t really focus on yourself, but now I have time to think about myself, to kind of spend time to myself, and to be in a happy moment.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Yuki Tsunoda has been getting used to a different F1 role in 2026 \u2013 the Japanese driver taking…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":558934,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[441],"tags":[49,48,578,576,577,82],"class_list":["post-558933","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-f1","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/558933","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=558933"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/558933\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/558934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=558933"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=558933"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=558933"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n\u201cI\u2019m really impressed,\u201d wrote Ross Brawn in his post-race column for F1.com<\/a>. \u201cHe is the best rookie F1 has had for years, having been fairly stunning in whatever series he has competed in. His promotion by Red Bull looks like a brilliant move.\u201d<\/p>\n