Yuki Tsunoda has revealed that he hasn’t given thought to remaining with Red Bull in a reserve driver role should he miss out on a spot on the Formula 1 grid in 2026.
Tsunoda’s future continues to be in the balance as he awaits Red Bull’s call on whether he will retain a drive with either the senior side or satellite squad Racing Bulls.
The Japanese racer has been alongside Max Verstappen since trading seats with Liam Lawson two races into the season, but, like his predecessor, he has struggled.
The expectation is that Isack Hadjar, who has thrived in his debut year, will replace Tsunoda, with Arvid Lindblad poised to take the Frenchman’s place at Racing Bulls.
That would leave a single vacancy with the Faenza-based squad, which is tipped to be between Tsunoda and Lawson, who completed the last season as team-mates.
Red Bull boss Laurent Mekies has divulged that an announcement will come once the Qatar Grand Prix has ended, prior to next weekend’s season finale in Abu Dhabi.
Tsunoda has denied that the protracted wait to discover his fate has irritated him, citing that he has grown accustomed to being placed in such a precarious situation.
Frustrate me? No, because I knew these things since, I don’t know, when this story thing started. So no, not really frustrated,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“The things I have to do is the same order but different now, because Max is now a championship contender. So definitely I want to be in the mix and try to help Max.
“I think naturally that will be around the top of the grid, and that will be also positive for me as well. That will lead to, I guess, positive things to my future.
“I’m not frustrated, I knew that for a long time. Two races to go, and, yeah, as a driver myself, I just want to compete in the best performance of myself.
“In Vegas, I mean, I was having the best weekend until everything going south from qualifying always, which is, to be honest, it was not [in] my control.
“So yeah, I just keep doing what I’m doing, yeah, just put it all together.”
Tsunoda hasn’t considered alternative Red Bull role
With all the seats outside the two Red Bull-backed teams occupied going into 2026, Tsunoda being overlooked would ensure he is resigned to a spell on the sidelines.
But when probed on whether he would be open to remaining within the Red Bull setup as a third driver, Tsunoda disclosed that the prospect has not crossed his mind.
“Well, I’m not thinking about that, to be honest, with that direction,” he answered. “So, yeah, I don’t know, I’m not planning anything yet about that.”
Despite being three races without a point, Tsunoda has insisted that his recent results have concealed the progress that he has made with Red Bull’s capricious RB21.
“The more you drive this car, the more you get confidence,” he explained.
“The level I was feeling, for example, in VCARB, like in the first start of the season, which is third year of this car, to match that, you need a bit more time.
“But I’m fairly happy with my confidence level I had after summer break, especially.
“I think after summer break, in general, with my performance, if you just look at results it probably doesn’t look like that way, but at least what I’m showing, with other circumstances, I think I was doing pretty well.
“I think the only thing I can say is Brazil was a bit weird, but also, I think we also struggled as a team as well.
“I’m fairly happy, I would say, if you just talk about the confidence level, yeah, and understanding about the car.”
READ MORE – Yuki Tsunoda vows he was faster than Max Verstappen ‘multiple times’ at F1 Las Vegas GP
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