Joining Red Bull when they were ‘having a war internally’ was difficult – Tsunoda

Yuki Tsunoda said his move to Red Bull was made more difficult by the circumstances in the team at the time, after learning he will not keep his seat for next season.

Red Bull confirmed on Tuesday they will replace Tsunoda after this weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. He said the team told him he will not remain as Max Verstappen’s team mate next year after Sunday’s race in Losail.

“I heard after the race [in] Qatar,” Tsunoda told the official Formula 1 channel. “Obviously I was disappointed.”

The team’s decision leaves Tsunoda without a race seat for the 2026 F1 season. He will remain with Red Bull as a test and reserve driver.

Tsunoda said the decision hasn’t sunk in yet. “I’m not fully recognising or fully feeling it yet, that I’m not racing next year.”

“But what I’m going to do here is exactly the same as what I was trying to do in Qatar,” he added, “be competitive as much as possible and ideally help Max [Verstappen] and finish as high as possible for myself and for the team.”

He said he found it difficult to go up against Verstappen within the same team as he was Red Bull’s priority in the drivers’ championship. “Maybe Max being the best driver in the grid is not helping the second driver, probably, as a historic [situation] because normally he’s fighting for the championship. The team want to prioritise the guy who’s fighting for championship, that’s normal.

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and

“So I guess that’s completely understandable. But that might [make things] a little bit difficult, [create] more pressure moments for the second driver. But at the same time, especially towards the end, I started feeling more support from the team.”

Tsunoda was initially passed over for promotion to the team at the end of last year when Red Bull chose Liam Lawson as Verstappen’s team mate. But Red Bull dropped Lawson just two rounds into the new season.

Later in the year Red Bull also replaced team principal Christian Horner. Tsunoda indicated there was drama behind the scenes when he joined the team.

“For my situation, probably I was jumping into this team almost in the time that internally they’re having a war,” he said. “That was pretty difficult.”

He also said the competitive field compounded the lap time difference between him and Verstappen in qualifying.

“[Having] one of the tightest fields in the grid wasn’t any help,” said Tsunoda. “Maybe I was exiting Q1 sometimes and he was most of the time in Q3 obviously and top three or whatever, so if you look at that result it does look bad. But at the same time if you just look at the gap consistently, I can’t remember the last time I was five tenths behind or four-and-a-half tenths behind.”

“I’m proud of what I’ve done,” he added, “and I’m sure things will go in the right direction for next year as a whole team.”

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and

2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

• Joining Red Bull when they were ‘having a war internally’ was difficult – Tsunoda
• Hamilton worried by Hadjar’s move to Red Bull: ‘I hope he gets the right support’
• I was accused of something I would never do, says Antonelli after death threats
• Chance to win title is “not really in my control”, says Verstappen
• Canada was my most obvious missed opportunity to score more points – Norris

Browse all 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix articles