It’s essentially been a one-man show at Red Bull ever since Max Verstappen started winning world titles, and Yuki Tsunoda is the latest No. 2 driver to go through the meat grinder at the Austrian outfit.
Yuki Tsunoda Believes He Got the Most Out of Red Bull’s No. 2 Car Behind Max Verstappen
Beyond Sergio Perez, who managed to hang on for quite a while, Red Bull’s No. 2 car has been a revolving door with everyone who has passed through it. A key point of contention has been claims that more effort goes into Verstappen’s car than his teammate’s, leading to No. 2 drivers rarely performing enough to secure a long-term seat behind the Dutchman.
Tsunoda, on the other hand, is convinced that there isn’t another driver who could get more out of Red Bull’s No. 2 car than him. He spoke about his situation ahead of Red Bull’s 2026 lineup announcement on Tuesday.
“Especially the last few races, the team gave me a lot of support, and I was able to drive with an almost identical car to Max,” he said, via Adam Cooper on X. “I proved a lot of things. I think since I had an identical car, I was always within two or three tenths, and even Las Vegas, consistently, FP1 to FP3; there were multiple laps I was ahead of [Verstappen].”
‘@yukitsunoda07 states his case ahead of Tuesday’s @redbullracing and @visacashapprb line-up announcements: “Especially the last few races the team gave me a lot of support, and I was able to drive with an almost identical car to Max. I proved a lot of things. I think since I had… pic.twitter.com/X619cufRPR
— Adam Cooper (@adamcooperF1) December 1, 2025
He elaborated on his commendable results compared to Red Bull’s main man, mentioning his Sprint qualifying performance in Qatar.
“I finished ahead of Max in sprint qualifying,” he added. “Qualifying was a bit of a shame, but within that worst case, I was still three-tenths behind, and three-tenths behind is normally qualifying for the top five.”
His argument concluded with his belief that no one has been able to extract more out of Red Bull’s No. 2 car than he has.
“I think I’m showing what I can do, and I don’t think within my seat [anyone was] consistently able to drive this close,” he said. “I remember, last few years, I didn’t see many drivers like this.”
How much water his claims hold remains to be seen, as there has been word that Racing Bulls lead driver Isack Hadjar is set to replace him from next season. Tsunoda’s prospects at the sister team also seem slim, as Liam Lawson is reportedly set to pair with Arvid Lindblad at the Racing Bulls for 2026.
Such a scenario pushes the Asian driver into a backup role at best with the Red Bull brand, with alternatives like joining Alpine also a possibility.