Red Bull admitted that it “killed” a points-scoring finish for Yuki Tsunoda in the Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix, as part of a team plan to help Max Verstappen.
The Japanese driver came home in 11th place, having started 10th, finishing three seconds short of Gabriel Bortoleto at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
Naturally, there is a lot of scrutiny on how close Tsunoda can get to Verstappen, particularly over one lap, and in Mexico, the gap in Q2, in which he was eliminated, was just two tenths.
In the race, Tsunoda got a great start and found himself eighth, and looked set to consolidate a points finish.
However, a slow 12-second pitstop cost him time, which, if it hadn’t been lost, would have likely seen him finish ahead of Esteban Ocon.
After the race, Tsunoda reflected on what might have been, admitting to media including Motorsport Week that “easy points” were lost.
“Unfortunately, pitstop was there,” he said.
“But also, it’s not just that. A couple of things that I flagged, but I wasn’t able to, I would say, avoid it or, I don’t know, save those situations, which I can’t say here.
“Very, very frustrating, to be honest. It was pretty much out of my control. And what I can control, I think I maximised it.”
Tsunoda’s Mexico performance has forced Red Bull to take time on 2026 decision
The bad pitstop was only half the story, however, as Red Bull changed the initial plan of Tsunoda’s race.
With Verstappen seeking to make up the deficit to his rivals within the race, it was decided that Tsunoda’s stint on his first set of tyres would last until Lap 36.
This meant that Oscar Piastri, both the Mercedes drivers and Lewis Hamilton would all need to navigate their way past him prior to Verstappen stopping for fresh rubber.
In an open admission of sacrificing Tsunoda, Team Principal Laurent Mekies spoke positively of his race, citing the closeness to Verstappen in qualifying first and foremost.
“He was very, very close in quali to Max, I think it was two tenths in Q2,” Mekies addressed.
“Today, the first stint was very, very strong as well – two tenths, three tenths [sic. Four tenths] from Max, on the same very long first stint on the medium.
“Then after, you know, fair enough, we left him out a bit longer because it was an advantage for us to do that, and we had a slightly long pitstop.
“So we killed a bit a few points that he would have scored on merit.
“And of course it’s one of the reasons why we want to take a bit more time before we make a decision on the drivers.
“Yuki is making steps forward, the other kids are making steps forward as well, so we have no reason to rush the decision. We will take a bit more time.”
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