Tsunoda back in frame after Baku breakthrough

Sep.22 (GMM) Yuki Tsunoda may have revived his chances of staying with Red Bull for 2026 after delivering what team boss Laurent Mekies called his “best race” since promotion.

The Japanese driver finished P6 in Baku, fending off Lando Norris to help Max Verstappen maximise his victory and slash McLaren’s title leads.

“We sat down after the race in Monza – Tsunoda was at times a second slower than Max – and decided on a different approach,” Red Bull’s Dr Helmut Marko told Sky Deutschland.

“Simply put, he needs more coaching due to his less experience than Max. We tuned the car more to his preferences.”

According to Marko, the team is now coaching Tsunoda more directly. “We’re informing him what Max does in certain situations,” he explained. “And we’ve tuned the car more to his liking, so it’s not quite as critical at the limit.”

Tsunoda said the changes – including extra simulator work – gave him additional confidence at the wheel. “All the effort I’ve put in over the past few weeks is now paying off,” said the Japanese.

“I noticed a few things that Max did a little differently than I did. I immediately implemented those in the simulator, and it felt good. Applying that to the track is a different story, but I made progress.”

He admitted the gap to Verstappen remains large. “Of course the quality isn’t at Max’s level,” Tsunoda said, “but I took it step by step.

“This weekend gives me more confidence for the future. I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing.”

In the race, Tsunoda defended firmly against Norris despite fading tyres. “It wasn’t easy,” he admitted. “All I had were the tyres I used in qualifying, and they overheated quite quickly.

“Of course I can’t make any aggressive moves and lose my position, because that would be very damaging to Red Bull as a team, with McLaren ahead of us.”

His goal, he said, was to help Verstappen. “The most important thing is to stay ahead of McLaren. I think that’s the most important thing for the Red Bull family.

“We’re not giving up on this season, especially when it comes to Max’s chances of winning the drivers’ title. I’ll try to squeeze the maximum out of the car, and it would be great if I could support him.”

With Isack Hadjar widely tipped for promotion in 2026, Tsunoda knows his entire future in Formula 1 remains uncertain.

But after Baku, Mekies was full of praise: “He drove his best race here since joining Red Bull.”

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