Red Bull’s second seat woes: Can Tsunoda prevail and secure his F1 future?

Written by Maham Mir, Edited by Meghana Sree

Red Bull’s second seat conundrum has claimed numerous victims in the past – will Yuki Tsunoda’s name be added to the long list of failed Red Bull drivers or can he break the cycle and secure his future in F1?

Yuki Tsunoda is currently 19th in the standings with 12 points | Credit: Formula One

In its short but famed history, Red Bull Racing has been associated with many feats including breaking records, consecutive world championships and historic streaks. Essentially, success is built into the heart of their team. 

Yet, in recent years, a more unfortunate association has developed with their team and that is their ruthless approach to the driver occupying their second seat alongside Max Verstappen. 

Red Bull’s long list of failed second drivers

Since the departure of Daniel Ricciardo at the end of the 2018 season, the second seat has been occupied by five drivers in seven years. The first driver to occupy the seat was Pierre Gasly however he was demoted after only 10 races. 

Replacing Gasly was Alex Albon who occupied the second seat for a season and a half before being replaced by Sergio Pérez; Albon remained with Red Bull as their test and reserve driver before departing to join Williams in 2022. 

Although Pérez enjoyed success as a Red Bull driver with 29 podiums, five race wins and three pole positions, poor results ultimately led to a contract termination ahead of the 2025 season.

Liam Lawson and Tsunoda have both been Red Bull drivers during the 2025 season | Credit: Formula One

 Even with this succession of drivers, it would be a fair assessment that 2025 has been the harshest till date that Red Bull has been towards its second driver. 

This year, they had two drivers in less than three race weekends at the start of the season. The news of Pérez’s departure was quickly followed up by the announcement of Liam Lawson’s promotion from the junior team. 

Lawson, who twice replaced Daniel Ricciardo at the junior team, had enjoyed a decent run of form as he scored six points in 11 race starts with Racing Bulls. 

Despite his success at the junior team, across the paddock, there were discussions about why Yuki Tsunoda had not been chosen to replace Pérez given his wealth of experience over Lawson. 

When asked about Lawson’s promotion ahead of himself, Tsunoda stated that: “It is what it is – there are things I can’t control. I’ll just keep focused on myself and try to prove myself more.”

Liam Lawson by his Red Bull car after a late crash in the 2025 Australian Grand Prix | Credit: Formula One

With this uncertainty surrounding the move, it is likely that Lawson would have been hoping to prove his critics wrong. Unfortunately, the fairytale ending that Lawson and his team were hoping for never materialised. 

At the season opener in Australia, Lawson qualified 18th and he failed to finish the race after crashing out due to the slippery track conditions. 

In his second race with the team, Lawson qualified last in both sprint qualifying and qualifying for the main Grand Prix. Although his final race classifications for the sprint and the main race were better, 14th and 12th respectively, discussions had already opened about replacing Lawson with Tsunoda as soon as the Japanese Grand Prix neared. 

This decision was ultimately carried out. Helmut Marko said: “We were worried that his [Lawson’s] self-confidence is so damaged that he couldn't bring his normal performance.” 

Additionally, Marko commented that Red Bull “made a mistake" with Lawson’s premature promotion.

Lawson’s demotion to Racing Bulls after only two races saw the most recent promotion and move in the Red Bull family: that of Tsunoda. 

Tsunoda steps up but his results haven't

Although some suggested that this move was undoubtedly the right one, Tsunoda’s time at the team has not demonstrated the turnaround that Red Bull would have hoped for or expected. 

Tsunoda in the Red Bull car for post-season testing in 2024 | Credit: Formula One

Joining in time for his home race, the Japanese driver qualified 14th and finished the race in 12th. 

Although it was not the debut he would have hoped for, especially in front of his home crowd, Tsunoda did not have to wait long to put points on the board after finishing ninth in Bahrain. 

While many both inside and outside the paddock were optimistic that this was the fresh start the team had been waiting for, this was ultimately not how the situation panned out. 

Since Bahrain, Tsunoda has achieved only three points finishes: in Miami, Imola and Zandvoort.

However, he has also faced a myriad of issues. Most notably, a high impact crash at the 2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix saw him forced to revert to an older chassis which further highlighted the gap between himself and teammate Verstappen. 

His points in Zandvoort were the first he has scored in eight races and remain his latest points at Red Bull as he failed to finish in the top 10 in Monza. 

Helmut Marko, shortly after the announcement of Tsunoda’s promotion and with the support of then-team boss Christian Horner, insisted that the Japanese driver would have until “the end of the season” to prove he was worthy of retaining the seat going into 2026. 

Even new Team Principal Laurent Mekies, who worked with Tsunoda at Racing Bulls, has stated: “No, we do not plan to change during the season. Yuki [Tsunoda] has been making a good step in the last three races, we want more, but he's doing a good job.” 

Despite these reassurances, Tsunoda’s recent performances have raised questions about the driver’s future in the team and perhaps the sport overall.

Is it time up for the Japanese driver?

 With plenty of young and fresh talent waiting in the wings such as Arvid Lindblad who received his super license towards the end of 2024, Tsunoda’s place in the Red Bull family may be under threat. 

Perhaps even closer to him is the threat of Isack Hadjar who took his maiden F1 podium in Zandvoort; while Tsunoda is yet to step onto the F1 podium. 

Isack Hadjar, a Racing Bulls driver, with Tsunoda, the current driver in Red Bull’s second seat | Credit: Formula One

Although a swap between Tsunoda and Hadjar could potentially resolve Red Bull’s problems, it must be said that keeping Tsunoda in the junior team would perhaps not be the best decision when considering the ethos of the team.

From its founding in 2006, the junior team was designed to be a place for young talent to find their feet and settle into F1. For Tsunoda, an experienced F1 driver, he may not be the ideal candidate for one of these seats thus potentially leaving him without a F1 drive altogether. 

Drivers such as Hadjar, who was Formula 2 runner-up in 2024, and Lindblad, currently placed seventh in the F2 championship standings after becoming F2’s youngest ever race winner, would be better suited and therefore more likely candidates for the seat.

The constant speculation that surrounds the second Red Bull seat does not seem to be disappearing and even the allure of driving at a top team that has dominated this set of regulations may not be enough to tempt drivers into joining the team. 

All the while, it remains to be seen whether Tsunoda will become another driver in a list of those who have fallen short in expectations or whether he will be the one to finally break the cycle. 

With young talent waiting in the wings to be promoted to a coveted spot in the pinnacle of motorsport, he may quickly be running out of time to convince management that he deserves to be in a front-running team.