Yuki Tsunoda names the ‘toughest’ moment of his F1 career that made him want to ‘get out’ of his car

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Yuki Tsunoda has had a number of tough moments throughout the 2025 season with Red Bull, but none of them compares to the hardest race he has ever competed in, which left him wanting to get out of his F1 car midway through.

The Japanese driver has had a difficult time adapting to the RB21 alongside his high-flying teammate, Max Verstappen.

Tsunoda has scored just nine points since making the switch at the Japanese Grand Prix, as opposed to the Dutchman’s 194 points he has claimed in the same period.

The Milton Keynes-based outfit isn’t convinced that he is the man to lead them forward as F1 enters its new era of regulations at the start of 2026, and it looks like Tsunoda is running out of time to change Red Bull’s mind.

READ MORE: Laurent Mekies already has a preference as Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda fight for Racing Bulls seat

Yuki Tsunoda named the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix as the ‘toughest’ race of his F1 career so far

Despite his recent woes with the front-running Red Bull team, Tsunoda disclosed his ‘toughest’ ever appearance in F1 as being the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix, when he was driving for AlphaTauri (now Racing Bulls).

“It was Qatar two years ago,” Tsunoda told the Talking Bull podcast. “It was just physically tough. It was 40 degrees, and I think it was 70, 80% humidity.

“Qatar is one of the toughest tracks on the calendar anyway, with any conditions, because most of the corners are fast corners. So you feel a lot of G-force every lap.

“There are 14 corners where you get decent G-force. Driving, by itself, is really, really hot.  It feels like you’re in a sauna, and already from the 12th lap, there’s a feeling that you want to get out.”

The race was infamous for the extreme heat that was encountered, with the track temperature failing to fall below 36 degrees Celsius in the Grand Prix. It was reported that the drivers were experiencing something closer to 50 degrees Celsius in the confines of their cockpit.

“The worst thing is, I had to open my visor in order to breathe because inside a helmet it gets too warm and what I was breathing was really, really hot air, which almost felt like I was going to burn my throat,” Tsunoda added.

“Especially driving behind a car is the worst, because you want to open the visor, but at the same time, because it’s in the Middle East, the sand comes out from the car in front. So the sand comes in through my visor and goes into my eyes, and you can’t really open them.”

The conditions were so difficult that Williams’ Logan Sargeant was forced to retire from the race after 40 laps due to suffering from heatstroke. Tsunoda went on to finish 15th, a lap down from the victorious Verstappen.

READ MORE: Five unforgettable Qatar Grand Prix moments including Christian Horner’s ‘rogue marshal’ outburst

Joining Red Bull for the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix is Yuki Tsunoda’s greatest achievement in F1

Tsunoda was also asked about what he personally feels are his greatest achievements in Formula 1 since joining the grid as a rookie with AlphaTauri in 2021.

After initially saying his third-place grid slot for the Brazilian Grand Prix last season, the 25-year-old changed his mind to the moment he became a Red Bull driver ahead of his home Grand Prix in Japan earlier this season.

“P3 in qualifying last year, in Brazil. Actually, I’ve changed my mind, I think stepping into Red Bull Racing in Suzuka for my home Grand Prix,” Tsunoda said on Talking Bull.

Things haven’t quite gone to plan for the Japanese driver since the move, but he has seen results improve since being reunited with his former Racing Bulls boss, Laurent Mekies.

Helmut Marko revealed when Tsunoda’s future would be decided, with there being no further update on it since.

Mekies has told Tsunoda what he must do in order to save his seat, and with there being just eight rounds left of the 2025 season, he will need to get started on it as soon as possible to be in with a chance of being on the grid next year.