Yuki Tsunoda has been backed to make a swift return to the Formula 1 grid after his ousting from Red Bull by the team’s boss, Laurent Mekies.
The Japanese driver was stripped of his drive with the Milton Keynes-based squad after a difficult season, and will be replaced for 2026 by Isack Hadjar.
Tsunoda began the year at Racing Bulls alongside the French rookie, but was rapidly moved to the full Red Bull team after Liam Lawson was fired after just two races.
The Kiwi was sent back to the Faenza-based outfit, with Tsunoda given the remainder of the season alongside Max Verstappen in the often tricky RB21.
But as the car improved and Verstappen reinvigorated his title defence, Tsunoda was still unable to fully match his four-time World Champion team-mate as the season wore on.
After months of speculation, it was confirmed ahead of the season finale in Abu Dhabi that Tsunoda would indeed lose his drive and is now forced to settle for a test role instead.
Mekies is a man who knows Tsunoda well, having been his boss at two different teams this year, the Frenchman having been Team Principal at Racing Bulls before himself being promoted after Christian Horner’s exit in July.
Speaking after the decision was confirmed, Mekies was quick to point out that the decision to replace Tsunoda was hard, but explained why Hadjar was given the drive.
“It has been a very difficult decision to take. The second seat at Red Bull is not an easy one,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“We have a tough car to drive. And of course, we have tried everything we could to support Yuki.
“At some stage, we had to make the difficult call between where we were seeing that going for the following years.”
Mekies hopes ‘shoot for the stars’ mentality will help Tsunoda achieve an F1 return
Mekies is obviously close to Tsunoda and spoke openly about his hope that he will be afforded another opportunity to prove himself in F1 again.
“I hope, and I think, that Yuki will get another chance,” he added. “He will be the reserve driver with us next year. You never know what’s going to happen.
“We have been quite famous in making fairly swift driver decisions in the past. I recall one moment – at the end of the 2024 season, Yuki was driving very well.
“It was very difficult for him to digest. Liam was getting the promotion in Red Bull Racing. He went into the winter thinking, ‘Was he going to get the chance one day or not?’
“He came back, and we set ourselves with the team at the time the objective to maximise everything – to shoot for the stars. Three races after, he was driving in that Red Bull team.
“So you never know what the future holds. I’m sure everyone in this room and beyond has experienced setbacks – sometimes hard setbacks.
“That’s a setback for him. But I am confident that he has a lot in him that will allow him to have another opportunity.”
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