Yuki Tsunoda told to ‘be ready’ for potential F1 2026 race return
Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda has been left without a seat for the F1 2026 season
Urged by F1 chief Stefano Domenicali to “be ready” should the opportunity present itself for a swift return to the Formula 1 grid, Yuki Tsunoda is not only filling the role of Red Bull’s reserve for the F1 2026 season, but also Racing Bulls.
With newcomers at both teams, after Isack Hadjar stepped up to Red Bull and Arvid Lindblad to Racing Bulls, the Japanese driver could yet find himself parachuted in at any time.
Yuki Tsunoda urged to be ‘ready’ to return to F1
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Tsunoda’s time as a Formula 1 race driver ended in Abu Dhabi last season after Red Bull announced that he would be demoted to a reserve role after five years on the grid and 124 points.
It was not the ending that Tsunoda expected as he firmly believed he had done enough to retain the seat alongside Max Verstappen.
In the end, though, he was dropped in favour of Hadjar while Arvid Lindblad’s arrival at Racing Bulls meant there was no race seat available there, either.
“Obviously, I’m disappointed, and p***ed off,” Tsunoda said, in response to a question from PlanetF1.com on how he was feeling after receiving the news.
He went on to explain that while he had interest from other parties, his Red Bull contract meant there wasn’t anything he could do about it.
“Well, I didn’t have options,” he said. “So the thing is, my contract was there so I couldn’t do much.
“I had a couple of interests from externally, but my contract doesn’t really allow me to talk a lot with them, whatever.”
Rather than axe Tsunoda from the programme entirely, Red Bull has opted to keep him on as a reserve driver with team principal Laurent Mekies saying at the time that he would “provide invaluable support to the 2026 projects moving forwards.”
It’s a calculated move, one that could yet prove to be the key to Red Bull success.
More on the Red Bull F1 2026 driver line-ups
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That’s because Tsunoda has an understanding of both Red Bull car and Racing Bulls machinery, at least yesteryear’s cars.
Although the F1 2026 cars will be very different machinery – shorter, lighter and using active aerodynamics – Tsunoda can bring a perspective that no one else has regarding both cars’ strengths and weaknesses, especially what caught out Red Bull and Racing Bulls last season.
As a driver who has both matured over the past few seasons and also improved his technical feedback, he’s in a unique position to assist both the senior and sister squad.
That could see him return to the grid should either Hadjar or Lindblad come up short and the squad look to make an in-season change.
Formula 1 chief Stefano Domenicali has urged the Japanese driver to be ready for that call.
“So you know very well this year,” Domenicali said during the launch of Honda’s F1 2026 engine. “Yuki Tsunoda will be a third driver. He has to be resilient, because if chances will come, he needs to be ready.
“That’s my wishes to him, because he’s a great guy, and I’m sure that he will be ready.
“It will be a call because that’s the nature of a sport.
“We don’t have to forget for one we start this year with 22 seats in the world. So it’s not easy.”
Although Tsunoda remains with Red Bull, his personal backer Honda has left the team to partner with Aston Martin, which could open another door for Tsunoda to return to the grid in F1 2027.
Koji Watanabe, the president of the Honda Racing Corporation, has confirmed that Honda is still in talks with Red Bull for a deal that could allow Honda to “utilise” Tsunoda.
“Regarding this year’s contract with Tsunoda, negotiations are ongoing so no specific agreement has been finalised yet,” Watanabe told Motorsport.com.
“From Honda’s perspective, there’s no problem. The crucial point is how Ford, or rather Red Bull, views the situation.
“Depending on the terms Red Bull proposes, the scope within which Honda can utilise Tsunoda will change… I believe that scenario is possible.
“The negotiations are not with Tsunoda himself, but with Red Bull.”
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