Five seasons. Sixty-odd races. Countless promises of “next year will be different.” And still, Yuki Tsunoda finds himself binned by Red Bull in favour of a 21-year-old rookie who’s had one proper season in the junior team. When even Ralf Schumacher is calling your fate “fairly clear,” you know the writing’s been on the wall for months.
Multiple outlets now confirm what everyone suspected: Tsunoda’s losing his seat to Isack Hadjar for 2026. The Japanese driver’s five-year audition has ended with a polite “thanks but no thanks” and possibly a reserve role nobody wants. Meanwhile, Hadjar gets the promotion despite spending his debut season wrestling a car he called “Lego” after it fell apart in Qatar.
The Qatar Meeting That Sealed Tsunoda’s Fate
Apparently the decision came together during high-level meetings in Qatar involving Oliver Mintzlaff, Laurent Mekies, and the eternal puppet master Helmut Marko. You know, the same Marko who recently triggered an online abuse campaign against an 18-year-old with his conspiracy theories. Quality decision-making all around.
Red Bull will make it official on Tuesday, confirming what Tsunoda probably knew months ago. Hadjar moves up to partner Max Verstappen. Liam Lawson stays at Racing Bulls. And 18-year-old Arvid Lindblad gets Hadjar’s old seat, despite internal doubts about whether he’s actually ready for Formula One. But when has readiness ever mattered in Red Bull’s revolving door programme?
When Your Best Still Isn’t Good Enough
The cruel irony? Tsunoda genuinely believes he’s been driving at his peak recently. And he’s probably right.
“I did everything I could. Especially in the last four races, the team gave me a lot of support, and I was able to drive a car almost like Max’s. I proved a lot. With an identical car, I was always within two or three tenths.” – Yuki Tsunoda
Two or three tenths off Verstappen. That’s actually respectable, isn’t it? He even beat Max in sprint qualifying in Qatar. But apparently being close to arguably the fastest driver on the grid still isn’t enough when you’re competing against Red Bull’s latest shiny toy.
Tsunoda currently sits 15th in the championship standings, which admittedly isn’t spectacular. But then again, he’s been driving machinery that’s barely scraped into the points most weekends whilst fighting teammates and internal politics.
The Reserve Role Nobody Wants
According to Bild, Red Bull’s offering Tsunoda a combined reserve driver role across both teams for 2026. How generous. Five years on the grid and your reward is sitting in the garage watching Hadjar and Lindblad get the opportunities you never quite received.
It’s the motorsport equivalent of “we’d like to keep you involved” when everyone knows you’re being shuffled aside. Will Tsunoda accept? Or will he finally tell Red Bull where to stick their reserve role and find a proper seat elsewhere?
Hadjar: From “Lego Car” to Verstappen’s Garage
Isack Hadjar’s promotion comes despite a weekend in Qatar where his car literally fell apart. After retiring with bodywork problems, the Frenchman snapped at journalists asking about the announcement: “I don’t care about that now.” Charming.
But Marko’s been singing Hadjar’s praises all season, calling him “a funny guy who never blames the car, but always only himself.” Which is hilarious given Hadjar literally called his Racing Bulls machine a “Lego car” after bits started falling off.
The 21-year-old Frenchman’s scored 51 points in his rookie season and grabbed a podium at Zandvoort. Impressive, certainly. But enough to justify promoting him over someone with five years of experience? Red Bull thinks so. They’ve nicknamed him “Petit Prost” because apparently he bites his nails like the four-time world champion. That’s the bar now, is it?
Named After Newton, Racing Like A Physicist
Here’s a fun fact: Hadjar’s full name is Isaac, spelled differently but pronounced the same. His father, a quantum physicist, named him after Isaac Newton. The young Frenchman even used to race with a helmet featuring physics equations from Schrödinger, Newton, and Einstein.
How very Red Bull. They love a good backstory, don’t they? Never mind that Hadjar’s debut in Australia involved spinning off in the formation lap and crying in the pitlane before the race even started. Everyone loves a redemption narrative.
The Verstappen Teammate Graveyard Grows
Add Tsunoda to the list of drivers who weren’t quite good enough to survive alongside Verstappen. Alex Albon, Pierre Gasly, Sergio Perez, Liam Lawson (the first time), and now Tsunoda. All casualties of the impossible task of matching the Dutchman’s pace whilst dealing with Red Bull’s political circus.
Ralf Schumacher, never one to mince words, laid it out plainly for Sky Germany: “I think it’s fairly clear what’s going to happen with Tsunoda. At least, that’s what I assume, because it’s clear that nothing moved in any direction.”
Schumacher reckons Lawson’s eight-point advantage over Tsunoda in the championship matters. Which is odd, considering they’ve been driving different cars for different teams for most of the season. But consistency has never been Red Bull’s strong suit when it comes to driver evaluation, has it?
Lindblad Gets Promoted Despite Internal Doubts
Perhaps the most telling detail in all this: Red Bull’s promoting 18-year-old Arvid Lindblad to Racing Bulls despite internal doubts about his readiness. Bild reports that “internally there are doubts as to whether the homegrown talent truly has the potential to become an absolute top driver in Formula 1.”
So they’re binning a proven quantity with five years of experience to gamble on a teenager who their own people aren’t convinced about. Makes perfect sense in Red Bull’s perpetual youth experiment.
Marko, predictably, “thinks very highly of him.” Because Marko’s never been wrong about a young driver before, has he? The Austrian’s track record is absolutely flawless and certainly hasn’t left a trail of broken careers in its wake.
Abu Dhabi: Tsunoda’s Emotional Farewell
So Abu Dhabi becomes Tsunoda’s goodbye race. Five seasons culminating in one final weekend knowing you’re being replaced by someone younger, shinier, and theoretically faster. His priority? Helping Verstappen secure the championship against McLaren’s imploding title challenge.
“We have the speed, and I don’t think there’s much we can do to improve on the second place finish.” – Yuki Tsunoda
Even in his final race, Tsunoda’s playing wingman to Verstappen’s title quest. That’s been the story of his Red Bull career, hasn’t it? Always supporting, never quite good enough to lead.
Will history look back on Tsunoda as a wasted talent crushed by Red Bull’s impossible standards? Or just another driver who wasn’t quite quick enough when it mattered? Either way, five years should’ve been enough to prove yourself. For Yuki Tsunoda, it apparently wasn’t.
