As the F1 summer break comes to a close, driver market discussions are set to continue in the second half of the season.

Most of the undecided seats for 2026 still haven’t been filled, with arguably the most high-profile example of this being Red Bull.

Aside from Max Verstappen, whose own future was in doubt earlier in the year, there is little clarity on what Red Bull’s driver situation will look like.

Yuki Tsunoda in Spa, Belgium. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

Tsunoda, Hadjar, Lawson and even F2 driver Arvid Lindblad are still waiting for clarity on where they will drive next season.

What could be decisive in Red Bull’s next steps is their team principal Laurent Mekies – who has committed to supporting Yuki Tsunoda as much as possible.

Why Yuki Tsunoda still has Red Bull’s support

Following Pierre Gasly’s Red Bull exit in 2022, Yuki Tsunoda became the benchmark at VCARB.

Tsunoda consistently outperformed the teammates put alongside him, from De Vries to Ricciardo, throughout the 2023 and 2024 seasons.

The 25-year-old was also comfortably faster than Isak Hadjar in their very brief time as teammates.

In this context, Tsunoda has been one of Red Bull’s most important assets for some time.

Of course, with Christian Horner never especially confident in Tsunoda’s abilities, the Japanese driver effectively became a test for other Red Bull prospects.

In many ways, this was Pierre Gasly’s role at the second team after his Red Bull demotion halfway through 2o19.

Regardless, when Lawson struggled at the start of 2025, Red Bull immediately back-tracked on their decision to overlook Tsunoda.

Since joining Red Bull, a combination of factors have limited Tsunoda’s output.

According to team principal Laurent Mekies, however, none of these reasons are a consequence of skill.

Mekies, who was the 25-year-old’s team principal at VCARB, refuses to blame the #22 driver for his tough spell:

“The priority is to give Yuki what he needs to perform,” he told Sky Sports.

“With regards to the second seat, that’s where the priority is. It’s what the team is concentrated on.

“They have been trying that for a number of races now. We are trying to find ways together to make a further step.

“Spa was very positive, certainly from that perspective, Hungary was a tricky weekend overall. So it’s probably a bit more difficult to judge.

“But there is no reason why Yuki’s performance cannot be what we have seen in the past.

“And that’s what we are concentrated on right now.”

Chance for a fresh start in Zandvoort

On several occasions this season, Tsunoda has shown signs of promise at Red Bull.

Yuki Tsunoda in Budapest, Hungary. (Photo by Joe Portlock/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

The most recent example of this was in Belgium, qualifying 7th after receiving the same floor spec as Verstappen.

It was poor strategy on Sunday that prevented him from scoring points.

Even at the most recent Hungarian GP, Tsunoda was only a tenth behind Verstappen in qualifying.

Due to Red Bull’s decline, as evidenced by the reigning Champion only finishing 9th on race day, this was not enough to make it out of Q2.

In more ways than one, Tsunoda – who had a case for a promotion in 2024 – has joined the team at the worst possible time.

Despite this, there is still a chance for the 25-year-old to stabilise his position.

Consistent top 10 results would be equivalent to what Perez was achieving at Red Bull last season.

Should the Japanese driver achieve this, it should be enough to convince an increasingly introspective Red Bull against another driver change.

Main photo: Mark Thompson/Getty Images (via Red Bull content pool)