Laurent Mekies and Helmut Marko ‘internally’ disagree on what they should do next with Yuki Tsunoda

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Yuki Tsunoda knows that the next few weeks are going to be pivotal to deciding whether he’s still a Formula 1 driver next year.

Red Bull have spent years trying to come up with a solution to their second driver problem.

Ever since Max Verstappen was promoted to replace Daniil Kvyat in 2016, Red Bull have struggled with the dynamics between their two garages.

Daniel Ricciardo was a brilliant teammate to Verstappen while he was still developing into a world champion before he joined Renault.

Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon have gone on to have successful careers elsewhere in the paddock after being comfortably beaten by the Dutchman before Sergio Perez was dropped by Red Bull after four seasons.

This year, Liam Lawson lasted just two race weekends before Yuki Tsunoda was promoted to partner Verstappen.

Tsunoda hasn’t proven to be an obvious upgrade on Lawson and currently sits 17th in the drivers’ championship.

At the end of the season, Tsunoda and Lawson’s contracts expire, and at this stage, team principal Laurent Mekies and chief advisor Helmut Marko don’t see eye to eye on what to do next.

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

Laurent Mekies and Helmut Marko disagree over Yuki Tsunoda decision for 2026

A report from NextGenAuto has shared more details about Tsunoda’s future.

It was initially believed that Tsunoda would discover his fate after the Mexican Grand Prix, but Red Bull have delayed that decision for now to help Verstappen concentrate on his championship ambitions.

The report states that there’s ‘internally’ a feeling that Mekies is still ‘strongly’ supporting Tsunoda.

When he took over from Christian Horner, he immediately made sure that Tsunoda had the same spec car as Verstappen, something that rarely happened during the previous tenure.

Verstappen does now have newer parts on his RB21, with this era’s development cycle coming to an end and a limited amount of time and cost cap left for this season.

However, Marko is said to be ‘keen to promote’ Isack Hadjar to replace Tsunoda and then bring Arvid Lindblad in at Racing Bulls.

Speaking to ServusTV after the race in Mexico, Marko said: “We discussed it internally and came to the conclusion that we are fully focused on the title fight.”

“It’s a surprise that it has become so exciting. We’ve postponed the driver selection until after Doha (Qatar) or Abu Dhabi.”

On top of this, Marko told Sky Sports Germany: “The decision on the drivers for Racing Bulls will also be postponed because the entire focus is on the World Championship. We cannot afford such a minor error in the setup again.”

READ MORE: All you need to know about Red Bull team principal and CEO Laurent Mekies

Laurent Mekies comments on Yuki Tsunoda’s performance at the Mexican Grand Prix

Tsunoda could have finished in the points in Mexico despite missing out on the top 10 shootout in qualifying.

His deficit over one lap to Verstappen was the smallest it’s been since Hungary, and while he ran as high as fourth at one point in the race, Tsunoda ultimately had to settle for 11th.

Speaking in his official post-race media session, Mekies said: “The pace from Yuki was also fast today, especially his first stint on the medium.

“Unfortunately, we had a fairly long pitstop with him, which is not the sort of thing which usually happens with our super-strong pit crew.”

It sums up Tsunoda’s luck that a slow stop from a team who are notoriously good in the pit lane has cost him.

Whether it plays a factor in Red Bull’s final driver decision is a matter that only Marko and Mekies know the answer to.