Yuki Tsunoda has revealed one regret about his short-lived promotion to the Red Bull Formula 1 team – leaving behind the “pretty good f***ing car” Racing Bulls produced.
The Japanese driver was finally afforded his ‘coming of age’ moment in 2025, by being handed a step up to the full Red Bull team after four seasons at the Faenza-based squad.
However, it was not a successful spell, with Tsunoda struggling to match Max Verstappen in the RB21, and ultimately paying with his drive, losing it to rookie sensation Isack Hadjar.
The decision leaves Tsunoda without a drive for 2026, forced to settle only for a test and reserve role with the Milton Keynes-based outfit instead.
Tsunoda’s promotion was the result of years of hard graft in the junior team, and whilst it did not work out as he hoped, Tsunoda did not have any regrets, except for one.
“Probably I was saying that I didn’t have any regrets,” he told media including Motorsport Week. “I mean, the only regret I have is like missing out that pretty good f***ing car in VCARB.
“But also like throwing away your kids, your baby, because it’s the car that I developed with the team throughout the years, since we had this regulation.
“And I’m sure there’s my DNA inside as well. So obviously missing out that and finishing out without finally able to get in the level that we wanted is something that I miss it.”
Tsunoda haunted by Imola shunt but insists being ‘competitive’ with Verstappen at Red Bull
Tsunoda cited an early watershed moment in his Red Bull stint – his Q1 shunt at Imola – as a moment to reflect on with pangs of frustration.
One of the continuing themes of the year was that Verstappen was the only driver to be afforded the upgrades to the RB21 at the time of production – with Tsunoda being handed them later.
But he insisted that when all parts and cars were equal, he was able to get much closer to the Dutchman, something he looks back on with pride.
“But at the same time, yeah, I don’t regret much that decision [Imola], I would say,” he said.
“And still now, I think Imola is for sure something that I look back that frustrates me a lot still, because the crash I had was very unnecessary and I couldn’t avoid.
“But also that, for sure, that made myself [be] in the back step in terms of parts. But at the same time, if you look at the whole season, maybe the second half of the season especially, if you just look at results exiting Q1 and he’s [Verstappen] in top three, top four, results look bad, but at the same time, if you see just the performance, like just even the time that I exit Q1, I can’t remember the last time I was behind him four tenths of a half, five tenths of a half.
“And once I got exactly the same car, I was very competitive with him. And I think that’s what this season was struggling at and I can’t [tell you how] proud of myself how I grew up and how I grew up the season.
“Obviously, I can’t deny that he’s the best driver in the group, but at the same time, I’m happy that I was able to catch up quite quickly.
“At this level, myself, especially this very, very tight field, you know, all these years, the tightest field in history, so, yeah, that’s it.”
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