Red Bull drop Yuki Tsunoda for 2026 with Isack Hadjar handed the race seat
Yuki Tsunoda's time as a Formula 1 race driver has come to a temporary halt. Red Bull have confirmed the 25-year-old Japanese driver will not race for the senior team or sister outfit Racing Bulls in the 2026 season, instead remaining within the organisation as a test and reserve driver.
A season of struggle alongside Verstappen
Tsunoda started the 2025 campaign in the Racing Bulls seat before earning a promotion for his home race in Japan. However, the move up the grid proved difficult, with the 25-year-old unable to reproduce the performances of team-mate Max Verstappen. As of the 2025 Qatar Grand Prix, Verstappen had amassed 396 points to Tsunoda's 33 — 30 of those collected in Red Bull colours.
His tally also trails the Racing Bulls drivers he left behind. Liam Lawson, who swapped seats with Tsunoda earlier in the year, has 38 points, while rookie Isack Hadjar sits 10th in the standings with 51 points. It is Hadjar who will replace Tsunoda at Red Bull for the 2026 season, while Tsunoda's final outing for the team will come at the season finale in Abu Dhabi.
The new role in a pivotal regulation year
In the so-called third-driver capacity, Tsunoda will be involved in testing the cars and working on the simulator, helping the team collect critical data during a season of new regulations. He will also be on standby to step in for a Red Bull driver should one be unavailable during a race week, while remaining present in the paddock as he searches for a seat for 2027.
'I'm not finished yet'
Tsunoda struck a defiant tone in a statement on Instagram:
"I'm not finished yet. Finding out I won't have a race seat in 2026 was incredibly tough, but I'm determined to work harder than ever with Red Bull as test and reserve driver to develop with the team, and prove I deserve a place on the grid. Life's full of setbacks, and this is mine. It's not going to deter me from being the best F1 driver I can be."
Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies praised the departing race driver, saying: "His personality is infectious, and he has become a very special part of the Red Bull family."
Comeback precedents offer hope
Tsunoda can take heart from history: both Daniel Ricciardo and Alex Albon returned to the grid after spending time in reserve roles at Red Bull. Tsunoda, who joined Formula 1 in 2021 driving for AlphaTauri — now known as Racing Bulls — will now look to follow that path back into a race seat.