Villeneuve questions Red Bull's ‘overprotectiveness’ of Tsunoda

13:29, 31 Oct

Updated: 13:38, 31 Oct

1 Comments

byKada Sarkozi

Jacques Villeneuve believes Laurent Mekies is "overprotective" of Yuki Tsunoda.

"He's not bringing anything to the table either in pace, points for the team, or helping Max for the championship."

- Jacques Villeneuve

Yuki Tsunoda just missed out on points at the Mexico City Grand Prix, finishing 11th.

The Japanese driver narrowly missed out on points at the Mexico City Grand Prix, finishing 11th. According to Mekies, it was Tsunoda’s “best weekend in a long time,” the Red Bull team boss said last Sunday.

Jacques Villeneuve does not agree with the Frenchman's verdict, saying that it was not a good weekend for Tsunoda.

The 1997 world champion said on Sky Sports’ F1 Show podcast: "He's still very far off his teammate. He's not bringing anything to the table either in pace, points for the team, or helping Max for the championship.

"We've seen the best of him, he's already on the way down, so it seems that they're overprotecting him for some reason.

“You can't say that was a good weekend. It was maybe his least bad, but it wasn't a good weekend."

Jacques Villeneuve in the paddock - Photo: RacePictures

He therefore suggests that Red Bull should look for alternatives. "If he wasn't good or good enough, he still won't be, and he still won't help you to understand the new regulations. He still won't help you to develop and test that car, so why would you put a known quantity that you know is not good enough?"

He concluded: “In that case, you might as well go for the young rookie or left-field, take someone and take a chance that will bring new energy and a new thought process to the team. What you already have won't cut it.”

Red Bull waits on driver line-up decision

Red Bull is in “no rush” to make a decision about its driver line-ups for the 2026 season, Mekies said in Mexico.

He said: "As much as we accept that everyone would like us to decide, we are not in a rush. We will take all the time we need. Give these guys as many chances as they can have to demonstrate on track who are the best."

For Tsunoda, staying at Red Bull Racing now seems to be entirely off the table, with Isack Hadjar being the leading candidate to become Verstappen's teammate in 2026. However, a return to Racing Bulls is a serious possibility.

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