Laurent Mekies’ ‘incredible’ Yuki Tsunoda comments show exactly why Red Bull haven’t dropped him already

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Red Bull are still waiting to make a decision on their 2026 Formula 1 driver line-up as Max Verstappen pursues a fifth consecutive drivers’ title.

The reason a decision hasn’t arrived sooner? They don’t want to deflect attention or distract from the most important cause of the Formula 1 campaign. Whenever Red Bull have as much as half a sniff at success, they like to go all in.

Unfortunately, Yuki Tsunoda hasn’t been able to contribute much for them this season and has struggled to adapt to the RB21. It has left him 17th in the drivers’ championship, and at risk of losing his spot on the grid for good.

Red Bull have always been ‘quite negative’ about Tsunoda behind the scenes, and it’s as a result of both his racecraft and technical feedback. Verstappen demonstrated why Red Bull can’t keep Tsunoda after his setup was part of the reason for a Q1 elimination in Brazil, at a critical stage in the year.

READ MORE: Karun Chandhok explains why he would keep Liam Lawson over Yuki Tsunoda if he were Red Bull chief

Laurent Mekies’ ‘incredible individual’ statement shows why Red Bull haven’t dropped Yuki Tsunoda

Laurent Mekies and Helmut Marko agree on Tsunoda after the Brazilian Grand Prix, which is interesting, given that they haven’t always seen eye-to-eye on his career.

Red Bull don’t want to distract ‘internally’, but it’s hard to avoid the impact of one car turning up every weekend and having very little involvement in any sort of battle.

Speaking in an episode of the Talking Bull podcast, team boss Mekies might have just shown why Red Bull haven’t already announced that he doesn’t have a seat with them for next year. He called him an ‘incredible individual’, after admitting the two have a strong relationship.

“Same, really. He’s an incredible individual,” said Mekies. “He’s the most genuine, friendly, generous person. Yes, of course, he’s a friend. He’s the sort of guy that would, two or three weeks ago, he would drive 100km just to have dinner with you, even though we see each other every other weekend.

“I thought it was for us, but it may have been for the food, you’re right. He has a very unique trajectory in motorsport. He has that raw speed, he had that, I call it late progress on a fourth year, when drivers start to level a little bit, he had this huge season in 2024 with Racing Bulls.

“Then another amazing start in 2025, and then of course, he was now put into the exposure of a top team with the likes of Red Bull Racing.”

READ MORE: Yuki Tsunoda cannot join rival F1 series if he leaves Red Bull, he won’t make it back

How has Yuki Tsunoda performed for Red Bull recently?

The Brazilian Grand Prix was actually Tsunoda’s worst showing since the summer break, as he finished 17th.

He also got knocked out in Q1 on Saturday, winding up 19th on the grid, and behind his teammate. That was until the Dutchman opted for a pit lane start.

Tsunoda can save his seat for 2026, but he would need to pull off some heroics to do so and get in the way of the McLaren drivers to assist Verstappen’s title bid.

Given his current pace, that feels unlikely. Right now, it feels like the curtain is being drawn on his career, unless he can pull something spectacular out of the bag.