While most fans will be busy watching the title fight between Max Verstappen and the McLaren duo this weekend, there’s another story quietly building in the background. Red Bull’s Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda finds himself in a very different kind of battle to prove he belongs in Formula 1 for the long run.
Tsunoda heads into the Mexican Grand Prix under a lot of pressure to perform. However, there’s a bit of good news for him this time as he’s finally getting an important car upgrade that could make a real difference to his weekend.
Is the Upgrade a Much-Needed Boost for Yuki Tsunoda?
Tsunoda is set to run the same front wing specification as Verstappen in Mexico. It marks the first time in months he’ll have fully equal machinery to his teammate and is a welcome development for the 25-year-old, who has often been left behind in Red Bull’s relentless upgrade cycle this season.
Earlier in the season, Tsunoda made a solid start despite joining Red Bull having replaced Liam Lawson and without much pre-season preparation. He picked up a decent haul of points in Japan, Bahrain and Jeddah but things went downhill after his crash during Imola qualifying.
The incident didn’t just ruin his weekend but also damaged his car’s floor which could only be replaced with an older version.
Since then, Red Bull’s upgrade schedule has heavily favoured Verstappen and has left Tsunoda stuck with older parts for a while. Only recently after Laurent Mekies took over team management, things started to improve a little for the 25-year-old.
And now according to reports, Tsunoda will finally use Red Bull’s latest front wing in Mexico and the new spec could be worth around three-tenths a lap which could potentially be the boost he needs to get back in the fight to keep his seat with the Austrian based team.
Tsunoda Fighting To Prove His Place
Beyond the issues with the car, Tsunoda’s future with Red Bull is still unclear as the team has been open about its ongoing discussions for 2026 but team principal Mekies has made it clear that they’re in no hurry to finalize anything yet. That means Tsunoda still has some time to prove himself although the clock is ticking.
“We want to give Yuki and all our other drivers as much time as we can. He’s done a very good race in Austin,” Mekies said after FP1 in Mexico. “He did an excellent session this morning (FP1). We will take our time, and when we feel we are ready, we’ll do it. No need to rush.”
Austin was indeed a bright spot for Tsunoda as he looked sharp and confident behind the wheel but the competition for seats is fierce as Red Bull is also evaluating Lawson, Isack Hadjar and Arvid Lindblad for potential roles across its two teams.
Lindblad even managed to clock a faster time than Tsunoda during FP1 in Mexico which naturally added to the pressure and Helmut Marko also mentioned, “We got some answers but I can’t tell you what the driver lineup will be. We will wait a little bit, and then we decide.”
For now, Tsunoda knows the best way to silence any doubters is by performing on track this weekend in Mexico and the new front wing should give him a fair shot at showing what he can really do.
