Martin Brundle unimpressed with ‘menacing’ Red Bull radio message he heard at the Abu Dhabi GP

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Red Bull knew they were up against it in Abu Dhabi as they tried to win the 2025 championship for Max Verstappen, but he fell short by two points.

A lot of conversation was had about the Milton Keynes outfit ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. With Verstappen sitting 12 points behind Lando Norris and four points ahead of Oscar Piastri, many wondered how Red Bull would race against McLaren.

During the controversial 2021 race, Sergio Perez was used to hold up Lewis Hamilton, which ultimately played a factor in the Brit losing the title to Verstappen. In 2025, Laurent Mekies assured McLaren that Red Bull would race cleanly.

Verstappen took pole position and controlled the field in the early stages. He lost the lead to Piastri in the pit stops, but regained his advantage and won the race after the Australian went on a long stint on the hard tyre.

It was a clean and dominant display from the Dutchman, but less so from his teammate Yuki Tsunoda. Those tactics from the second Red Bull car back in 2021 came into play in 2025.

Martin Brundle slams ‘menacing’ Red Bull radio calls to Yuki Tsunoda at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

After his first pit stop, Norris had to navigate traffic when he found himself behind Tsunoda. He attempted a move down the main straight, but the Japanese driver weaved and pushed the McLaren off the track, resulting in a five-second penalty.

Red Bull had kept Tsunoda up to date with Norris’ gap to Charles Leclerc, who was chasing him down throughout the race. It was clear that the team intended to use Tsunoda to back up the championship leader, which did not sit well with Martin Brundle.

Writing in his column for Sky Sports, he said: “In the second Red Bull, Yuki Tsunoda had been put on a very long hard-tyred stint in the certain knowledge that at some point Norris would have to pass him for position after his pit stop.

“I really don’t mind a bit of strategic team play, everybody has two cars to use at their competitive best, but the ‘you know what to do’ radio calls were bordering on menacing, along with him being told the gap from Norris to Leclerc of 1.4 seconds.

“Yuki should have backed Lando up from the tight turns 12 through to Turn Five on the next lap, that would have been relatively easy and very effective.

“Instead, he chose to weave down the back straight like a drunken sailor while breaching the regulations, and eventually forcing Norris to pass on a filthy part of the track, which became actually, off the track.

“Tsunoda rightly got a five-second penalty for that clear breach, but what of Norris’ pass off-track and maintaining an advantage? He couldn’t hand the place back because Leclerc had now passed Tsunoda too. Fortunately for Norris, the stewards made a rational decision.”

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

Yuki Tsunoda’s F1 career went out with a whimper in Abu Dhabi

Mekies broke his promise to McLaren in Abu Dhabi, as Tsunoda did not play fairly with his antics against Norris. As Brundle notes, he did not do enough to help Verstappen win the championship.

Ultimately, the Japanese driver’s F1 career goes out on a bad note. He finished the race in P14, leaving him 17th in the standings with just 33 points, 30 of which he scored at Red Bull.

The poor state of the RB21 in the first half of the season did not help him when he replaced Liam Lawson after two races in 2025. However, even with Mekies by his side and an improved package, Tsunoda could not find his feet.

The 25-year-old will be replaced by Isack Hadjar in 2026 and will move into a test and reserve role. He hopes to return to F1 in the future, and when he does, fans want Tsunoda to partner with Pierre Gasly after the pair swapped helmets in Abu Dhabi.