Jacques Villeneuve tells Red Bull the ‘perfect’ wildcard to sign for Racing Bulls over Yuki Tsunoda

Follow us on Google Discover

Jacques Villeneuve believes Yuki Tsunoda is “just not good enough” for F1, as the Red Bull driver looks to secure a seat on the grid in 2026 with his contract about to expire.

The 25-year-old stepped up to the main Red Bull team this March to replace Liam Lawson in what is his fifth term in Formula 1. But Tsunoda has regularly struggled to adapt to the RB21 since leaving Racing Bulls, who now represent his most likely landing spot for a seat in 2026.

Motorsport adviser Helmut Marko has confirmed Red Bull will decide Tsunoda’s future after the Mexico City Grand Prix this weekend, given there is a brief break ahead of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix on November 7-9. The Mexico City GP will mark Tsunoda’s 18th race for Red Bull.

Tsunoda is fighting Arvid Lindblad for a 2026 Racing Bulls drive, with Lawson likely to stay in Faenza next year when Isack Hadjar gets his expected promotion to Red Bull. But Villeneuve believes Red Bull should release Tsunoda, having only scored 25 points with the team so far.

Jacques Villeneuve tells Red Bull to sign Alex Palou as Liam Lawson’s 2026 Racing Bulls F1 teammate

Villeneuve also believes releasing Tsunoda would give Red Bull the ideal chance to sign four-time IndyCar champion Alex Palou to partner with Lawson at Racing Bulls in 2026. The 1997 F1 champion believes the Spaniard can be the “perfect” driver to join Red Bull in the future.

READ MORE: Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda’s life outside F1 from height to parents

Villeneuve said on Sky Sports F1 (24/10, 20:08): “Keep Lawson, because you need a known quantity, and then go take Palou from IndyCar. He’s winning races under pressure [and] under every kind of circumstances. Perfect future Red Bull driver. Test him out.

“You didn’t see that one coming. He’s a known quantity as a race car driver, and he’s had much better training and practice than a Formula 2 driver. He’s running under tremendous pressure in the Indy 500, on different kinds of tracks, and he’s always at the top.”

Palou was linked with a 2026 Red Bull F1 seat earlier this year, but the Milton Keynes squad quickly shut down those rumours. The 28-year-old is also under contract with Chip Ganassi Racing for the 2026 IndyCar season, when he will also attempt to win a fourth title in a row.

Jacques Villeneuve brands Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda ‘just not good enough’ for F1

Villeneuve believes Palou’s experiences in IndyCar and his past racing background in Europe would let the Spaniard “adapt very easily” to the demands of F1 if Red Bull were to sign him for Racing Bulls. He also feels it is clear that Red Bull must retain Lawson and let Tsunoda go.

READ MORE: Who is Racing Bulls F1 driver Liam Lawson? Everything you need to know

Red Bull demoted Lawson back to Racing Bulls after only the first two rounds of the 2025 F1 season in a direct swap with Tsunoda. But the 23-year-old Kiwi has since scored 30 points, including finishing P5 in Azerbaijan to pen a better result than any of Tsunoda’s for Red Bull.

“Lawson still has a lot to show,” Villeneuve added. “He doesn’t have that much experience. Tsunoda, what? Five years now? We’ve seen how good he is, and it’s just not good enough.”

Tsunoda has scored 119 points across 106 Grand Prix entries in his F1 career since debuting in 2021, including scoring just 25 points through 17 rounds with Red Bull. Lawson boasts 36 points from 30 Grand Prix entries so far since debuting as a stand-in driver in the 2023 term.