Tsunoda fires defiant Red Bull warning shot at McLaren

Tsunoda's form has picked up as of late, with a P6 in Azerbaijan marking his highest placed finish in the current campaign.

This upturn in the Japanese driver's form, magnified when looking at Max Verstappen's efforts (a P2 and back-to-back poles and wins), reports suggest it stemmed from Red Bull's latest floor upgrade introduced in Monza.

Therefore Tsunoda is of the opinion that with teams already focusing their resources on 2026, there may yet be a chance for the Austrians and Verstappen to finish the season on a high and if possible the Dutchman's fifth consecutive crowning as world champion.

“I think teams are pushing a lot in terms of this, upgrades and everything, and trying to secure some milliseconds on every corner, which is very important,” Tsunoda said.

Despite the Japanese driver's recent re-awakening, things may not look so certain regarding his future at Red Bull Racing.

The team's chief advisor Helmut Marko confirmed that Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar were the only drivers who were confirmed for 2026, leaving Tsunoda's and Liam Lawson's F1 futures still very much up in the air. The Austrian also weighed in on what could be the oportune moment to promote Hadjar up to Red Bull.

GPblog understands that no decision has been made on who, outside of Verstappen continuing at Red Bull Racing, will drive where. This website also understands that Alex Dunne, McLaren junior driving in F2 at Rodin Motorsport, is also on the Austrian team's radar, with in-house talent Arvid Lindblad also being groomed for a promotion to F1.

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