Helmut Marko confirms Red Bull to decide Tsunoda’s fate after summer break

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Yuki Tsunoda Matches Red Bull Record for Consecutive Pointless Grands Prix

Yuki Tsunoda has become the first driver in Red Bull’s 20-year history to go seven consecutive Grands Prix without scoring a point, matching his current points tally with the team.

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The 25-year-old was promoted from sister team Racing Bulls to replace Liam Lawson in March, after Red Bull reversed their earlier decision to overlook him following just two rounds. But the move hasn’t paid off so far, with Lawson having scored 20 points compared to Tsunoda’s seven over the same period.

All of Tsunoda’s points came within his first five races for Red Bull. He has since gone seven races without adding to that total, with a best finish of P12 in Canada during that stretch. No other driver has gone seven straight finishes for Red Bull without scoring before.

Red Bull motorsport adviser Helmut Marko has since confirmed that a decision on Tsunoda’s future will be made after the summer break. The Japanese driver is out of contract at the end of this season, and his deal was not extended beyond 2025 after he took over Lawson’s seat.

Tsunoda outscored by teammate Ricciardo during winless streak

Tsunoda has also been outscored by teammate Daniel Ricciardo during his winless run despite having more seat time with Red Bull across F1 and F1 Academy.

The Australian had two stints racing for AlphaTauri and Racing Bulls until he joined Yuki in Canada last year before joining him again this season. However, Ricciardo still sits ahead in drivers’ standings with four points more than Yuki despite making one fewer start than him this season (16).

Robert Doornbos thinks Red Bull see Yuki Tsunoda as their ‘worst’ second driver ever

Tsunoda appears to be fighting a losing battle to keep his seat at Red Bull beyond 2025, with the team unlikely to retain him if it means blocking F2 rookie Arvid Lindblad from moving up to Racing Bulls. Robert Doornbos also believes Tsunoda knows he hasn’t done enough to justify staying.

Doornbos, who made three Grand Prix starts for Red Bull during the 2006 season, even suggested the team now view Tsunoda as their worst-ever second driver. The 25-year-old has twice qualified last on the grid and has failed to progress beyond Q1 or Q2 on four occasions each this year.

“Yuki’s performance in the second seat is the worst performance ever in the team’s history for a second driver,” Doornbos told Motorsport.com. “That’s a very painful realisation.

“I think Yuki is a great guy, and I also think he’s shown some really good things in his very long F1 career. But at Red Bull, what he’s doing with that car is far from pretty. That’s just painful for the entire team. He doesn’t deserve a seat for 2026, I think he realises that.”