Mekies on the ‘very difficult’ decision to demote Tsunoda as he backs him for race seat return

Laurent Mekies has opened up on the “very difficult” decision to demote Yuki Tsunoda, with the Red Bull Team Principal voicing his confidence that the Japanese driver could return to the grid in the future.

After Sergio Perez’s exit from the squad at the end of 2024, Liam Lawson was promoted to join Max Verstappen at Red Bull – but after two tough opening rounds, the New Zealander returned to Racing Bulls as part of a seat swap with Tsunoda.

It would subsequently prove to be a challenging campaign for Tsunoda, who ended the season in 17th place of the Drivers’ Championship with his best finish being a P6 in Azerbaijan.

Ahead of the finale in Abu Dhabi, it was confirmed that Tsunoda will be replaced by Isack Hadjar on the race team in 2026, meaning that the 25-year-old will instead become a test and reserve driver for both Red Bull and Racing Bulls.

Reflecting on the line-up call, Mekies – who previously worked with Tsunoda during his former role as Team Principal of Racing Bulls – admitted that it had not been an easy one to make.

“It has been a very difficult decision to take,” the Frenchman explained. “The second seat in Oracle Red Bull Racing is not an easy one. We have a tough car to drive. And of course, we have tried everything we could to support Yuki.

“At some stage, we had to make the difficult call between where we were seeing that going for the following years. I hope, and I think, that Yuki will get another chance. He will be reserve driver with us next year.”

Mekies went on to explain why he believes that Tsunoda has the qualities required to find his way back to a full-time F1 seat in the future.

“You never know what's going to happen,” the team boss continued. “We have been quite famous in making fairly swift driver decisions in the past.

“I recall one moment – at the end of the 2024 season, Yuki was driving very well. It was very difficult for him to digest. Liam was getting the promotion in Red Bull Racing.

“He went into the winter thinking, was he going to get the chance one day or not? He came back, and we set ourselves with the team at the time the objective to maximise everything – to shoot for the stars. Three races after, he was driving in that Oracle Red Bull Racing team.

“So you never know what the future holds. I'm sure everyone in this room and beyond has experienced setbacks – sometimes hard setbacks. That’s a setback for him. But I am confident that he has a lot in him that will allow him to have another opportunity.”