Tsunoda, who looks unlikely to be retained by Red Bull for 2026, endured a bad start in Singapore
Red BullF1 boss Laurent Mekies declared Yuki Tsunoda’s first lap at the Singapore Grand Prix as “shocking” – with Tsunoda himself admitting it was his “worst ever start.”
Tsunoda, who qualified 13th on the grid while Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen started in second, dropped down to 18th after a terrible start, but did recover in the subsequent 61 laps to finish 12th.
Yet another weekend without a top-10 finish for Tsunoda – he has only managed points-finishes in two of his last 11 races – piles even more pressure on the Japanese driver as he looks to save his Formula 1 career.
The 25-year-old is yet to be confirmed by Red Bull for 2026 and speculation is growing that Racing Bulls driver Isack Hadjar could fill the second seat alongside Verstappen next season.
At the sister team, where Tsunoda drove from 2021-2024, Arvid Lindblad is a candidate to be promoted from F2 to partner Liam Lawson, but Mekies has noted that he is in no rush to make a decision on 2026 driver pairings. However, he was more forthcoming when asked about Tsunoda’s weekend in Singapore.
"Today, the first lap was certainly shocking.” Red Bull team principal Mekies told journalists after the race on Sunday.
“But from that point onward, I think he has done a very decent race. I think he came back from P18 to P12 or P11, with a very decent pace.
“So, we had a very poor Saturday, it's costing us the weekend and a few points, and we'll work with him to improve together."
Tsunoda is currently 17th in the world championship with just 20 points to his name. Verstappen, meanwhile, is positioned in third and has 253 more points.
"It definitely was the worst start or the first lap ever in my life.” Tsunoda acknowledged.
"I can't still believe what happened in the first lap. Every place I tried to go, every corner in the first lap, I was literally covered or blocked by someone.
“I don't know what I should have done there. I'm sure there's something I could have done better. That for sure made my life very hard afterwards.”
Tsunoda has six more races this season to prove his worth to Red Bull, starting at the United States Grand Prix (17-19 October) in Austin, Texas.
Category: General Sports
