When Yuki Tsunoda earned his promotion from Racing Bulls to the senior Red Bull Racing team early in the 2025 season, his momentum from the junior outfit sparked excitement. But at mid-season, it’s become clear that success with Red Bull hasn’t come easy—highlighting a struggle shared by many before him in the second seat.
Early Promise & the Lawson Swap
Tsunoda outperformed Liam Lawson in the season’s first two rounds—Leclerc in Australia and China—qualifying well and showing strong race pace. That momentum led Red Bull to make the bold call: Tsunoda would replace Lawson starting at the Japanese Grand Prix.
Chief Engineer Paul Monaghan praised his adaption, calling Tsunoda a “quality signing”—one capable of helping develop the RB21. Tsunoda immediately showed he belonged: scoring points and reaching Q3 a few times.
Glimmers of Competitiveness—and Repeated Setbacks
Tsunoda delivered respectable mid-pack performances early on—9th place in Bahrain and 10th in Miami. At Imola, despite starting from the pit lane after a heavy qualifying crash, he battled back to P10, showing perseverance.
Yet the shine faded quickly. He crashed at the Saudi Grand Prix in a controversial collision with Pierre Gasly—ending his race and leaving many worried about adapting to a more demanding car.
Several races later, including Spain, Canada, Austria, and Silverstone, passed without scoring points. Qualifying woes, strategy errors, and on-track incidents contributed to underwhelming results.
A notable misjudgment in Austria had him penalised 10 seconds after contact with Franco Colapinto. Christian Horner later called it a “horrible race,” stating the assembly and performance issues are areas that need fixing.
Performance Compared to Verstappen—And Expectations
The reality gap between Tsunoda and Max Verstappen is stark. Verstappen has consistently delivered top-six finishes, pole positions, sprint wins, and race wins in the RB21—while Tsunoda is still yet to break into the top ten consistently.
Tsunoda has candidly said it isn’t fair to compare him with Verstappen since he lacks equal equipment and Verstappen has far greater experience in the car. He hopes that, under the new technical leadership of Laurent Mekies—who previously mentored him—he might receive fairer support moving forward.
Notable Highlight—and Growing Pressure
One of Tsunoda’s season highlights came in Austria. Starting from the back, he climbed to a remarkable P6, catching attention for regaining ground in challenging conditions.
But such bright spots are becoming rarer, and mounting poor results pose a risk to his role in the team. Multiple outlets suggest that if performance doesn’t pick up, Tsunoda may not be guaranteed Red Bull seats beyond 2025—even if Helmut Marko confirmed he’s signed through the end of the year.
Final Results at Midseason
A look at his race table reveals the struggle:
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Best finishes: P9 in Bahrain; P10 in Miami, Imola, and beyond.
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Several DNFs and dismal qualifying weekends with minimal pace.
For comparison, Verstappen’s results have been near flawless. Tsunoda’s season illustrates how steep the learning curve is—even for experienced F1 drivers—when managing a car built for a four-time world champion.
Overall Reflection: A Driver in Need of Refinement
At midseason, Tsunoda’s 2025 campaign feels like a step backward—compared to expectations and the Verstappen benchmark. While early glimpses showed promise, consistency and pace remain elusive.
Yet his honesty in assessing comparisons, reliance on maturity (post-Ricciardo clash changes), and one standout drive in Austria demonstrate he has resilience. Whether he can translate that into regular results may determine his future with the team.
