Ted Kravitz says Laurent Mekies made a ‘mistake’ with his first driver sacking at Red Bull

Follow us on Google Discover

Red Bull finally announced their 2026 driver line-ups ahead of the season finale in Abu Dhabi. They are the only team in F1 who control four seats, which contributes to the delays.

In the headline move, Isack Hadjar has been promoted to the second Red Bull seat. He becomes Max Verstappen’s sixth teammate since the end of the 2018 season.

Yuki Tsunoda has not only lost his Red Bull drive, he’s out of F1 altogether. With Arvid Lindblad stepping from Formula 2 to join Liam Lawson at Racing Bulls, there was no soft landing for Tsunoda.

The Japanese driver will continue as a reserve, but there’s a possibility that he’s driven in his final F1 race.

Ted Kravitz questions timing of Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull announcement

This is the first time that Laurent Mekies has had to let a driver go since he replaced Christian Horner as the Red Bull team principal in July. Mekies had a close relationship with Tsunoda, making the decision even more difficult.

Speaking on the F1 Show, Ted Kravitz questioned why Red Bull told Tsunoda he was out before the final race in Abu Dhabi. That apparently affected his motivation levels.

Tsunoda reached Q3 on Saturday but, when called upon to help Verstappen in his title battle with Lando Norris during the race, his contribution was limited. He picked up a five-second penalty for weaving in his defence against Norris, without really slowing the McLaren driver down.

Where did you expect Yuki Tsunoda to finish when he joined Red Bull?

Comment

Like or Comment

Have your say Sign-in now for free

“The mistake with Yuki was telling him that he was sacked one week early,” Kravitz said. “He was not really motivated. He gave a half-hearted [defence].

“He would probably have damaged his reputation and F1 career almost certainly beyond repair had he actually taken Lando out. It would have secured him thanks for Red Bull, but he wasn’t going to do that. That’s stuff of Brad Pitt’s F1 movie really. He gave it a go, got a five-second penalty for himself.”

Red Bull didn’t want a repeat of Daniel Ricciardo scenario with Yuki Tsunoda

At the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP, Sergio Perez cost Lewis Hamilton eight seconds, a rearguard action that ultimately proved crucial as Verstappen snatched the championship at the end of the race.

There was no repeat here, though it’s not immediately obvious what Tsunoda could have done differently when Norris hunted him down on fresher tyres and activated DRS.

Last year, Mekies was in charge at Racing Bulls when Daniel Ricciardo lost his seat with a quarter of the season remaining. There was an uncomfortable atmosphere at Ricciardo’s final race as news of his imminent exit spread.

Red Bull learned from their mistake with Ricciardo and may have felt duty-bound to inform Tsunoda, even if it slightly compromised their chances at Yas Marina.