Yuki Tsunoda getting ‘more support than ever’ from Red Bull F1 bosses

Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda says he is getting ‘more support than ever’ from team bosses Christian Horner and Helmut Marko amid his current difficulties with the RB21.

After an encouraging start to life at Red Bull following his in-season promotion at the Japanese Grand Prix, Tsunoda’s performances have slid backwards, with last weekend’s Austrian round marking his third consecutive non-points finish.

The 25-year-old has now slipped to 17th in the drivers’ standings, two positions behind Liam Lawson, the driver he replaced at Red Bull after just two races in 2025.

Not only is a lack of race results of concern for Red Bull, but his qualifying performances have also left a lot to be desired, with the Japanese driver having failed to escape Q1 in the last three rounds.

The situation has led many to describe Red Bull as a ‘one-driver team’, with Max Verstappen scoring 155 points out of the team’s modest tally of 162.

However, Tsunoda insists Red Bull isn’t favouring either driver, pointing out that both team boss Christian Horner and advisor Helmut Marko have made a concerted effort to help him overcome his current struggles.

“I feel different support, especially these days and more than ever from Christian and Helmut,” he said. 

“At the start of the UK [race week] I went to a physio in Red Bull Racing to kind of reset myself. That was coming from them and they just wanted [me] to have fresh air. That helps me a lot to build up in a way with my rhythm.

“Also we are going to try a couple of things that they have tried and they allowed me to do quite a lot of things they probably would [not] do in a normal case.”

Despite Tsunoda’s poor run of results in recent races, Red Bull has publicly said on multiple occasions that the Japanese driver would see out the season with the team.

The energy drinks giant has previously been ruthless on that front, with underperforming drivers being demoted from the team in the middle of the year. Lawson, for instance, got only two rounds to prove his further before being shuffled back to Red Bull, while current Alpine driver Pierre Gasly suffered a similar fate during the summer break in 2019.

Asked if having that job security at Red Bull helps his cause, Tsunoda said: “[Marko] and Christian are very supportive.

“He [Marko] wasn't obviously with my race in Austria but at the same time, he is still willing to continuously help and support me.

“He still trusts my talent and speed. I just have to prove on the track that I can do it.

“Helmut is just a direct guy. In some races, if you do bad, he just tells me what was wrong and what was right. He is the kind of pressure that sometimes brings me to the level I never think about or extract from me some performance.

“So it's the way he works since I was a junior and I appreciate the support I'm getting so far.”