Yuki Tsunoda issues update on Red Bull situation after Helmut Marko reveal

Assured by Helmut Marko that he will remain a Red Bull driver until the end of the F1 2025 season, Yuki Tsunoda says that beats being told the team could switch drivers in “two races or whatever.”

Tsunoda is already Max Verstappen’s second team-mate of the F1 2025 championship, having swapped places with Liam Lawson after just two race weekends.

Yuki Tsunoda has been told he will see out the season with Red Bull

The New Zealander struggled to fire at Red Bull and as his head dropped after back-to-back P20s in the two qualifying sessions in China, Red Bull made the call to send him back to Racing Bulls and promote Tsunoda in his stead.

However, the Japanese driver is also finding it tricky at Red Bull.

Tsunoda has managed just seven points in his 10 starts, while Verstappen has brought in 129 in that same period, including two grand prix victories.

The disparity has raised questions about whether Red Bull could make yet another driver change in a bid to bolster the second RB21’s points tally.

Red Bull team-mates: F1 2025 head-to-head stats

👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between team-mates

👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates

Marko has repeatedly ruled this out, saying the “plan is for him to finish the season, nothing has changed” as a “driver change doesn’t make sense.”

Instead, Red Bull have been working with the Japanese driver, who is also seeing a sports psychologist with Marko confident it will pay dividends.

“We had intensive discussions with Yuki, he also works with sports psychologists,” he told Speedweek.

“We can feel an improvement in his performance and we are optimistic that this will soon be reflected in points.”

Given Marko has proved in the past that he’s not afraid to put pressure on a driver by publicly questioning their longevity at Red Bull, Tsunoda is happy to receive the 82-year-old’s assurances.

“Yes, rather than him saying probably going switch in two races or whatever, for sure,” said the 25-year-old.

“He was not obviously happy, but at the same time he’s still willing to continuously help or support me.

“He still trusts my talent and the speed, so I just have to prove on track that I can do it.

“Helmut is just a direct guy. Some races if you do bad, he just tells me what was wrong and what was right.

“It’s a kind of pressure that he gives me. Sometimes brings me into the level that I never think about or extracts from me some performance.

“It’s just the way that he works since when I was a junior and I appreciate the amount of support I’m getting so far.”

Whether that support continues into F1 2026 remains to be seen.

Tsunoda is Verstappen’s fifth team-mate since Daniel Ricciardo left at the end of the 2018 season with Pierre Gasly lasting just 12 races before Alex Albon was given a year and a half.

Sergio Perez had four years in the car and more recently Lawson had just two races.

Tsunoda reckons it takes at least a year for a driver to adapt to the RB21.

He said: “It depends on the driver, but also at the same time, I didn’t see yet so far the driver who probably got used to it in that car straight away. So that’s probably the fact.

“But at the same time, I feel I’m in the right direction, at least on the short runs.

“Also in terms of the whole package, I know there’s something to come as well into this year compared to Max.

“So once I get the full package, I still have good confidence that I can be in a level that they want. That’s what I’m working hard on.

“In terms of the long run it’s exactly the place that I’m still probably struggling at, but I’ll find a way. I saw a couple of driving styles that I can try that I never tried in my career in Formula 1. It’s just the learning stuff.

“Is it true that in terms of confidence, when the condition changes every session, maybe I’m taking a little bit more time compared to where I used to have at VCARB where for example, I knew exactly how the car was going to drive in each setup, I can go flat out from the first push.

“But maybe in the Red Bull, I had to build up, which for me is the right approach.

“I don’t think it’s a wrong approach, but just takes a bit of time.

“I don’t know if it’s going to take a whole season or not, but at least it’s positive that I’m going in the right direction.”

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