Laurent Mekies tells Yuki Tsunoda what he must do to retain his Red Bull seat for 2026, ‘we are looking for…’

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Red Bull Racing driver Yuki Tsunoda knows how important the next 10 races after the Hungarian Grand Prix are for his Formula 1 future.

The F1 driver market could burst into action at any point, although a few unconfirmed seats for next season appear to be settled already.

George Russell will soon sign a new contract at Mercedes unless something remarkable happens, and he’s likely to be joined by rookie teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli once again next year.

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen has had to come out and confirm that he’ll spend another season with the team, despite having a contract until 2028, because of the stories linking him with a move to the Silver Arrows.

It means that Yuki Tsunoda has the most coveted available seat for next season at Red Bull, with only the two Racing Bulls drivers, the two vacant Cadillac spots, and Pierre Gasly’s Alpine teammate yet to be decided.

If you had told Tsunoda before the start of the Hungarian Grand Prix that his Q1 time would be less than two-tenths off of Verstappen’s best effort, he would probably be delighted.

Unfortunately, that was only good enough for 16th on this occasion, leading to a pit lane start and another point-less outing.

New team principal Laurent Mekies is continuing to back Tsunoda and has now told him what he must do to secure his seat for next season.

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

Laurent Mekies says Red Bull must help Yuki Tsunoda amid 2026 uncertainty

Mekies was asked on The Inside Track Podcast what Tsunoda needs to do to ‘cement’ his place at Red Bull next season and said: “You know, it’s always about speed in Formula 1.

“It is where it’s nice sometimes to try to keep things simple.

“Max wants a fast car, teams want fast drivers, so, Yuki’s speed we don’t think it has disappeared.

He has had a very unique past, with such a steep step forward last year and at the beginning of this year.

“We know that talent, that speed, did not disappear, so our job is to try to make sure that he is able to express that speed, and if he does, he will get the right results.

“If he does get the right results, then that’s what we are looking for.”

READ MORE: All you need to know about Red Bull Racing from engine to Ford links

Yuki Tsunoda says front wing damage meant his Hungarian Grand Prix was ‘effectively over’

Tsunoda started from the pit lane as he changed some of the components in his power unit after qualifying.

It’s a trick that several drivers used at Spa the previous weekend and should pay off in the long run as the campaign goes on.

However, as the race progressed, Tsunoda was unable to make any progress, and at the chequered flag, he finished 17th, only beating both Alpine drivers and the retired Oliver Bearman.

Speaking in his official media session after the race, Tsunoda said: “This weekend has been a tough one for the team.

“We knew coming into today that it would be tricky to move up into the points, and once I had damage to the front wing, our race was effectively over.

“The gurney flap fell off halfway through, and that cost us a lot of pace and worsening grip, so we then lost the ability to make a positive strategy call that would benefit us.

“Looking back on the season so far, I can feel pretty positive, we’ve made progress, especially since the new floor upgrades were brought to Spa.

“The gap with Max continues to close; it may not feel like we are getting there, but, on paper, we are only one-tenth off his pace. I’m not sure many other drivers could get as close to him.”

Tsunoda’s statement that he doesn’t think many other drivers would be as close to Verstappen as he is appears to be a battle cry that Red Bull should retain him for next season.

Isack Hadjar is Red Bull’s favoured candidate to replace Tsunoda should they decide to make a change, although it was Liam Lawson who led all of the Red Bull-backed drivers home in Hungary.

Tsunoda needs a bit of luck after the summer break, but time is running out to prove he’s the man to help Red Bull dominate the next era of Formula 1.