The Loyalty Trap Nobody Warned Him About
Yuki Tsunoda spent five years proving himself to Red Bull. Five seasons of driving whatever machinery they threw at him. Five years prioritising the “Red Bull family” over every other opportunity. His reward? A contract so restrictive he couldn’t even talk to other teams when they came calling. Then they binned him anyway.
The Japanese driver admitted in Abu Dhabi that he had “some interest externally” but his Red Bull contract “didn’t really allow me to talk with them.” Brilliant. So whilst Red Bull deliberated over whether to keep him or promote Isack Hadjar, Tsunoda was locked in a cage watching potential escape routes disappear. When they finally decided he wasn’t good enough, those other opportunities had evaporated.
“Well, I didn’t have options, the thing is my contract was there so I couldn’t do much. I had some interest externally but yeah, the contract didn’t really allow me to talk with them.” – Yuki Tsunoda
It’s the motorsport equivalent of making someone sign a loyalty clause whilst you actively interview their replacement. The parallels to Jaime Alguersuari’s 2011 Toro Rosso exit are uncomfortable. The Spaniard also declined talks with other teams believing he’d secured his seat, only to be dropped at year’s end with nowhere to go.
When “Disappointed” Really Means Something Else
Tsunoda’s trying desperately to maintain professional composure about his demotion. But his language tells a different story. He’s “disappointed obviously and pissed off.” He learned his fate “right after the race” in Qatar from Helmut Marko in private. No ceremony. No gratitude for five years’ service. Just a quick chat confirming what everyone already suspected.
The most heartbreaking admission? He hasn’t fully processed it yet. Still ordering the same breakfast. Still going through the motions. “Probably I’m not recognising enough that it will be the last race for this year or at least for next year so maybe I’ll feel more after Abu Dhabi.”
That’s the voice of someone in denial about their F1 career potentially ending. Not because he failed spectacularly, but because he was thrown into an impossible situation with Max Verstappen’s teammate role and expected to immediately match pace.
The Racing Bulls Regret: Missing Out on a “Good F**king Car”
Here’s the cruel irony Tsunoda’s now confronting. He spent four years developing the Racing Bulls car. Building the team. Contributing his DNA to the chassis evolution through these ground-effect regulations. Then Red Bull called him up to the senior team just as that work started paying off.
“The only regret I have is missing out on that pretty good f**king car… the VCARB. It is like throwing away your kids, your baby, because this is the car that I developed with the team throughout the years.” – Yuki Tsunoda
Tsunoda qualified fifth in Australia in the VCARB02. Then got promoted to Red Bull’s notoriously difficult RB21, which drives like “a slightly complicated space shuttle” according to those familiar with its characteristics. His replacement Hadjar scored 51 points in the Racing Bulls. Liam Lawson managed 38. Tsunoda? Just 30 points with Red Bull after his promotion, plus three from his two races in the VCARB before moving up.
The Racing Bulls emerged as the more compliant, confidence-inspiring machine this year. Whilst the RB21 won Verstappen races through sheer brilliance, it destroyed everyone else who touched it. Racing Bulls CEO Peter Bayer explained it perfectly: “With these ground effect cars, driveability is performance.”
The Imola Crash That Changed Everything
Tsunoda traces his Red Bull nightmare back to one moment: his qualifying crash at Imola. That accident dented his confidence and knocked him out of step for upgraded components. From that point forward, he was playing catch-up with a car that demanded perfection.
“Imola, for sure, is something that I look back on that frustrates me a lot still. The crash I had was very unnecessary and also I couldn’t avoid. For sure, that made myself step back in terms of parts.” – Yuki Tsunoda
One mistake. One crash. And suddenly you’re racing older specification parts whilst your teammate gets the upgrades. The margins in modern F1 are so fine that being three-tenths down means the difference between Q3 and Q2 elimination. Tsunoda improved his race pace considerably, but qualifying left him with impossible recovery drives every Sunday.
The Reserve Role Nobody Actually Wants
Red Bull’s offered Tsunoda a combined reserve driver position across both teams for 2026. How generous. Five years on the grid and your reward is sitting in the garage watching Hadjar and Arvid 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 tell Red Bull where to stick their reserve role and find a proper seat elsewhere?
Alex Albon managed to convert his 2021 Red Bull reserve gig into a Williams seat. Valtteri Bottas is doing the same with Cadillac after a year as Mercedes’ third driver. There’s precedent for comebacks. But both those drivers had clearer pathways and didn’t spend five years loyally waiting for a promotion that ultimately destroyed their careers.
What Comes Next: The 2027 Question
Tsunoda’s Honda connections could theoretically put him in contention for Aston Martin in 2027 when the Japanese manufacturer supplies their power units. He’d also be an option for any midfield team seeking experience, assuming he hasn’t been forgotten by then.
IndyCar’s been mentioned as a potential landing spot. Super Formula remains an option. Acura in IMSA could work given his Honda links. But all those alternatives only make sense if Tsunoda gives up on F1 completely.
The Japanese driver describes himself as “something of a racing romantic.” He wants to leave F1 on his own terms, which means finding his way back onto the grid rather than accepting exile to another series. That stubbornness is admirable. It’s also potentially career-ending if no F1 opportunities materialise.
Red Bull’s contract prevented him from exploring other options when teams showed interest. Now he’s stuck hoping someone remembers him in 2027 after a year of reserve duties and testing duties that might keep him relevant or might consign him to obscurity.
The Breakfast That Says Everything
Perhaps the most telling detail from Tsunoda’s Abu Dhabi press conference? The morning after learning his F1 career was over, he ordered the same breakfast as always. Same food. Same routine. As if nothing had changed.
That’s either remarkable composure or complete denial about what’s just happened. Probably both. Five years of working towards a goal, only to have it snatched away whilst contractual restrictions prevented you from building a safety net.
Will Abu Dhabi be Tsunoda’s final F1 race? Or just an intermission before a comeback nobody’s currently predicting? The answer depends whether Red Bull’s contract cage transforms into Albon’s trampoline or Alguersuari’s trapdoor.
Based on their track record of nurturing discarded talent, don’t hold your breath.
