Tsunoda fires defiant Red Bull warning shot at McLaren
Yuki Tsunoda has stated Red Bull are not foregoing the F1 2025 season and has thrown in his support in Max Verstappen's bid to clinch his fifth world title on the trot.
We’re not giving up with this season, especially securing the Drivers’ Championship for Max.- Yuki Tsunoda
Tsunoda's form has picked up as of late, with a P6 in Azerbaijan marking his highest placed finish in the current campaign.
This upturn in the Japanese driver's form, magnified when looking at Max Verstappen's efforts (a P2 and back-to-back poles and wins), reports suggest it stemmed from Red Bull's latest floor upgrade introduced in Monza.
Therefore Tsunoda is of the opinion that with teams already focusing their resources on 2026, there may yet be a chance for the Austrians and Verstappen to finish the season on a high and if possible the Dutchman's fifth consecutive crowning as world champion.
“I think teams are pushing a lot in terms of this, upgrades and everything, and trying to secure some milliseconds on every corner, which is very important,” Tsunoda said.
“I think definitely, we are more confident in the coming races to perform better, so I’m sure we’re not giving up with this season, especially securing the Drivers’ Championship for Max.
"So, I’ll try to extract performance as much as possible from the car that I have, and also at the same time for some races, if I can support him, that would be [good].”
Tsunoda's future in Red Bull at risk?
Despite the Japanese driver's recent re-awakening, things may not look so certain regarding his future at Red Bull Racing.
The team's chief advisor Helmut Marko confirmed that Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar were the only drivers who were confirmed for 2026, leaving Tsunoda's and Liam Lawson's F1 futures still very much up in the air. The Austrian also weighed in on what could be the oportune moment to promote Hadjar up to Red Bull.
GPblog understands that no decision has been made on who, outside of Verstappen continuing at Red Bull Racing, will drive where. This website also understands that Alex Dunne, McLaren junior driving in F2 at Rodin Motorsport, is also on the Austrian team's radar, with in-house talent Arvid Lindblad also being groomed for a promotion to F1.
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