Yuki Tsunoda ‘disappointed and p***ed off’ after Red Bull demotion

Yuki Tsunoda believes the reality of his demotion from a Red Bull race seat for F1 2026 hasn’t quite hit him fully.

The Japanese driver has been confirmed as having lost his race seat within the Red Bull teams for next year, having endured a difficult season with the Racing Bulls squad.

Yuki Tsunoda ‘surviving okay’ after Red Bull demotion

Having done enough to earn a promotion to the senior Red Bull squad after Liam Lawson’s difficult start to this year, Tsunoda’s considerably greater experience netted him no greater reward than what the Kiwi could manage.

Following 21 race weekends in the RB21, Tsunoda has scored 30 points in the car, less than what Lawson and Isack Hadjar have managed in the sister Racing Bulls machines.

Tsunoda’s Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen has also become a title contender in the same car, having accumulated 396 points over the entire season; the pairing is the most one-sided on the grid, in terms of points accumulated this year.

Following the Qatar Grand Prix, won by Verstappen with Tsunoda in 10th, the Japanese driver was informed that he will not retain his seat with the Milton Keynes-based squad.

He will not return to the Racing Bulls team with which he raced for the previous four years, having debuted with AlphaTauri in 2021.

While he has been kept on within the Red Bull family as a reserve driver for the two teams, behind Ayumu Iwasa in the pecking order at Racing Bulls, his F1 career is now on pause.

Speaking to media for the first time since his demotion as he appeared at Yas Marina Circuit on Thursday, Tsunoda explained that the reality of his situation hasn’t hit him as hard as perhaps anticipated.

“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.

Revealing some of the details of how he was informed about Red Bull’s decision to make changes for F1 2026, he continued,  “How I was told was right after the race [in Qatar], from Helmut, privately, that I’m not racing next year.

“Surprisingly, I’m okay.

“Not okay, like, I’m surviving okay. The morning after, I ordered breakfast as usual, the same food.

“Probably, I’m not recognising enough it will be the last race for this year, for next year. Maybe I’ll feel more after Abu Dhabi.

“But that’s how it went and how I feel now.”

With Tsunoda now facing a year on the sidelines watching on, his Red Bull contract prevented him from having the freedom to pursue contingency options.

“Well, I didn’t have options,” he said, when asked if actively looking elsewhere might have been an option over awaiting Red Bull’s decision on its seats.

“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.

“So that’s why I was really focused on Red Bull and, anyway, it was my priority for the last few years, the Red Bull family, because this is where I grew up.”

One positive that Tsunoda can cling to is that it’s no longer unusual for drivers to find themselves without a seat and return, particularly those with experience.

Some of Tsunoda’s Red Bull predecessors have managed just that, with Sergio Perez, dropped after F1 2024, returning with Cadillac next season.

Alex Albon, who drove for Red Bull until 2020 before being dropped for Perez, secured a return with Williams in 2022 and has since become an established name in the upper midfield.

Valtteri Bottas and Nico Hulkenberg are also drivers to sit out a season, or three in Hulkenberg’s case, and manage to find a seat again.

“I’m excited to see from different perspective, different eyes, next year, because, for the first time in my career, I’m not racing,” he said, when asked about what approach he can take to next season to maximise his chances.

“I was not really sitting down in an office while people are racing. So I think I can refer to this way. I can see more overview, and communication every driver is doing.

“So maybe I can learn a lot of things that I never imagined now. So I’m excited for that.

“And also still try to be in this shape as much as possible so, when any opportunity comes, I’ll smash the opportunity.”

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