Laurent Mekies reveals the ‘truth’ about Yuki Tsunoda after being asked if he’s ‘thrown in the towel’

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Red Bull Racing driver Yuki Tsunoda faces a pivotal week in his Formula 1 career after the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

Since finishing 10th at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in May, Yuki Tsunoda has scored points at three race weekends.

He’s sunk to 17th in the drivers’ championship, with only the Alpine trio of Pierre Gasly, Franco Colapinto and Jack Doohan, and Sauber rookie Gabriel Bortoleto beneath him.

Unsurprisingly, this has raised questions about Tsunoda’s future in Formula 1.

It’s widely expected that Tsunoda will be replaced by Isack Hadjar at Red Bull in 2026.

It means Tsunoda’s final lifeline will be to return to Racing Bulls next season, but faces competition from Liam Lawson and Formula 2 star Arvid Lindblad.

Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies has spoken after the Las Vegas Grand Prix, and addressed whether the 25-year-old has given up on his hopes of being a Formula 1 driver next season.

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

Laurent Mekies addresses Yuki Tsunoda future question at the Las Vegas Grand Prix

Tsunoda started from the pit lane after being eliminated in Q1 once again on the streets of Las Vegas.

It was one of the toughest qualifying sessions of the season, with the full wet tyres required and Lewis Hamilton and Andrea Kimi Antonelli both eliminated alongside Tsunoda at the first opportunity.

Red Bull admitted getting Tsunoda’s tyre pressures wrong, but even after both McLaren drivers were disqualified, he only ended up finishing 12th.

Mekies was asked on Channel 4’s coverage of the race in Las Vegas whether Tsunoda had ‘thrown in the towel’ regarding his future at Red Bull.

The team principal responded: “You know, the truth is with Yuki is that we’ve lost it yesterday.

“We said it, we got it wrong in qualifying, and when you are going to start from the pit lane, it’s always going to be difficult.

“So, that’s what it is. Yes, it cost us some points, but we don’t judge it on today’s race, we judge it on the pace that we can extract.”

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

Red Bull set to make Yuki Tsunoda decision after the Qatar Grand Prix

Tsunoda might have one last chance to impress Red Bull at the upcoming Qatar Grand Prix.

However, on three previous visits to the track, Tsunoda has failed to score a point, which highlights his need to improve rapidly with his position on the grid on the line.

Mekies is struggling to drop Tsunoda, which could be bad news for Lawson or Lindblad, as he might be keen to keep him within the Racing Bulls set-up if Hadjar is destined to be Max Verstappen’s teammate.

The 25-year-old has a brilliant record in Abu Dhabi, but it might be too late to convince Red Bull that he deserves another year in the car by then.

If Tsunoda is demoted to Racing Bulls, then it’s hard to see the value in keeping him within the set-up, with little prospect of being promoted again.

However, the same argument can be made of Lawson, which is why Red Bull are taking so long to make their final decision.