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Yuki Tsunoda's Formula 1 story has taken an unexpected turn. After four seasons with the Red Bull junior team, he finally received his promotion to the main team in 2025, only to lose the seat after a season that did not fully convince the people who matter. He is now a reserve driver, watching from the sidelines while Isack Hadjar races alongside Verstappen. Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies has not given up on him getting another chance.
What Tsunoda Is Contributing Behind the Scenes
Tsunoda has not disappeared from the programme. He has been working intensively on the development of the RB22, using his experience with both Red Bull and Racing Bulls to contribute meaningful simulator and feedback work. Mekies acknowledged that value directly in the Beyond the Grid podcast. "Yuki is doing excellent work for us, both as a reserve driver and in the simulator. With his recent experience he is enormously valuable behind the scenes and he is helping us develop the car further."
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Mekies Wants Tsunoda Back Racing
The team principal was clear that keeping Tsunoda in a non-racing role indefinitely is not the goal. "We genuinely hope that he gets another chance soon, because ultimately drivers belong on the grid." That is a more direct statement than is typical from a team principal managing a driver in a reserve capacity. It suggests Red Bull see Tsunoda as having unfinished business in Formula 1 rather than being managed toward an exit.
Mekies also acknowledged that Red Bull have not always given their second driver the right conditions to succeed. "We know that we have not always had the second car performing optimally in recent years. We continue to work hard on that. Yuki has shown in the past that he has serious pace, so we hope another opportunity presents itself for him." Whether that opportunity comes within the Red Bull family or elsewhere remains an open question, but the door from the team's side appears to be open.
Azerbaijan Grand Prix
I. Hadjar
A. Antonelli
C. Leclerc
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