Sergio Perez might have just told Yuki Tsunoda the secret to mastering Red Bull’s ‘undriveable’ car

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The second half of the 2025 Formula 1 season is arguably going to be the most important 10 races of Yuki Tsunoda’s career.

At the start of the 2025 F1 season, many people were wondering how Yuki Tsunoda was going to react to being overlooked by Red Bull.

Red Bull decided at the end of the 2024 campaign that they didn’t want to continue with Sergio Perez, but instead of promoting Tsunoda, Liam Lawson was handed the opportunity to race alongside Max Verstappen.

However, two races into the season, Lawson was demoted, and Tsunoda was handed his dream role at his home race.

Although the 25-year-old missed out on points at the Japanese Grand Prix, there were positive signs, but those quickly faded away.

Tsunoda hasn’t scored a point since the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, and now his future is at stake.

Red Bull have yet to offer Tsunoda a new contract, and the likes of Isack Hadjar and even Alex Palou have been linked with his seat.

Perez has now explained what happened during his spell with Red Bull, and Tsunoda must understand what the Mexican driver did to survive for four seasons alongside Verstappen if he’s going to be on the grid next year.

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Sergio Perez sympathises with Yuki Tsunoda’s ‘very tricky’ Red Bull experience

Perez was asked on The F1 Show why it’s so ‘difficult’ to race for Red Bull and if he can understand the struggles Lawson and Tsunoda have had this season, and he replied: “I think it’s just the whole dynamics of the team.

“Everything is driven, obviously, they have a unique talent over there with Max, and everything is, and when you get there, the development curve they have, it’s very difficult for the second driver that is there to basically adapt to the car.

“It’s a very unique car, a very unique driving style that I managed to, yeah, I’ll say to survive for many years, but it’s difficult, and it’s the way it works.

“You’ve seen it with great drivers just before my time or even after my time, I mean, I think they’ve scored, Yuki and Liam, they’ve scored like five [seven] points or something like that, so it is very, very difficult, very tricky and they’re fantastic drivers, but it’s just the way it is to drive it.

“It’s just a very unique driving style. Sometimes I could cope with it, I could adapt to it, but as soon as it was variable with the rain, with the wind or something, it just became undriveable and then you start making mistakes one after the other, you are losing confidence, but mentally I was super strong, and that’s why I survived there for so long.

“I did have a lot of pressure and a lot of you guys were on to me, and now you realise that the job I’ve done in that car and that team.”

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

Yuki Tsunoda must heed Sergio Perez’s advice to survive at Red Bull

There have already been suggestions that Tsunoda’s Red Bull future is out of his hands, with his backing from Honda disappearing as they team up with Aston Martin next year.

Team principal Laurent Mekies will understand the benefit of stability heading into 2026 with the sport’s regulations changing.

A new driver would not only have to learn all about a new car, but about a new team as well, and the struggles of Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz at Ferrari and Williams, respectively, might play a role in that decision.

Red Bull have previously been concerned about Tsunoda trying to copy Verstappen’s driving style, and to an extent, Perez’s advice suggests that he might need to learn to mimic the Dutchman’s skills in difficult conditions.

However, if he goes overboard, he’s going to lose the aspect of his driving style that convinced Red Bull to promote him in the first place.

It’s a tricky balancing act, and one that Perez managed for four seasons until he eventually reached the point of no return.