Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko has been encouraged by an \u201cupward trend\u201d from Yuki Tsunoda as a decision over his F1 future looms.<\/p>\n
Tsunoda has five races remaining on his Red Bull contract with the team set to make their decision over next year\u2019s lineup.<\/p>\n
Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull future assessed by Helmut Marko<\/p>\n
Max Verstappen is currently the only Red Bull driver who is certain over his future with Tsunoda, Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson all hoping to retain their seats heading into the new season.<\/p>\n
That is no certainty though with the likes of Arvid Lindblad pushing for a spot, leaving Red Bull with a decision to make.<\/p>\n
One of the drivers thought to be most at risk is Tsunoda who after being dropped into the Red Bull seat at short notice has scored just 28 points, 278 fewer than his team-mate.<\/p>\n
In Austin, Tsunoda started 13th but rose to seventh, even after a tangle with Oliver Bearman, and Marko said he was pleased with what he saw from the Japanese driver.<\/p>\n
More on Red Bull from PlanetF1.com \u201cHe had a very good start and was competitive when he had a clear run,\u201d Marko told Sky Deutschland. \u201cSo there is an upward trend there as well. He\u2019s stabilising and that\u2019s very important in the world championship fight.\u201d<\/p>\n As for the 2026 decision, Marko suggested it was not the \u201cpriority\u201d given Verstappen\u2019s title push but did say it was \u201cplanned\u201d to make a decision after the next Grand Prix.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s not our priority at the moment,\u201d Marko said. \u201cIn general, this is planned. Let\u2019s see to what extent we can decide then.\u201d<\/p>\n As for Tsunoda, he said results will be crucial to him keeping his seat next season.<\/p>\n \u201cMy pace was really, really good,\u201d Tsunoda said after the race in Austin.<\/p>\n \u201cI was able to make up a few positions in the first few laps, and my overall pace wasn\u2019t bad. I could have done a little better in the second stint \u2013 I think I managed it a little too much \u2013 but it was positive to get points in both races this weekend. We need to keep doing that.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked if the results were crucial to keeping his seat, Tsunoda didn\u2019t hesitate. \u201cYes, it\u2019s definitely important because that\u2019s what I have to do,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s also very important to fight to move up in the constructors\u2019 championship. The team hasn\u2019t given up \u2013 and of course we haven\u2019t given up on Max\u2019s championship either.<\/p>\n Especially now we have to focus on improving our short runs. I don\u2019t think we can attack like that on the first lap every time, so our main goal now is to start from further forward and fight with the top teams.\u201d<\/p>\n
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