Zero-podium driver didn’t look ‘Formula 1 worthy’ at Austrian Grand Prix as he made ‘mistake after mistake’

Follow us on Google Discover

The Austrian Grand Prix saw a much-needed return to form for Lando Norris as he dominated the weekend for his third win of the season.

The Brit went over half a second clear of the field in qualifying and commanded the race to take victory at the Red Bull Ring, after a brilliant battle with McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri. Charles Leclerc locked out the podium as Ferrari move back ahead of Mercedes in the constructors’ championship.

Only three teams failed to score points at the Austrian Grand Prix. Liam Lawson and Gabriel Bortoleto recorded their best finishes in F1 with P6 and P8 respectively, but it was an outright disaster for Red Bull at their home race.

Yuki Tsunoda failed to reach Q2 for the third time in the last five races, while Max Verstappen could only manage P7. The Dutchman’s race was over by the fourth corner as Kimi Antonelli crashed into Verstappen and took him out of the race.

Teammate Tsunoda could not get through the field as he once again struggled in the RB21. The Japanese driver limped home 16th and two laps down on Norris, after being hit with a 10-second time penalty for a collision with Franco Colapinto.

Robert Doornbos says Yuki Tsunoda didn’t look ‘Formula 1 worthy’ at the Austrian Grand Prix

Red Bull were a horror show in front of their home crowd and sponsors as they suffered their worst result at the Austrian GP since 2015. Owner Mark Mateschitz might have been embarrassed watching his sister team Racing Bulls outperform the main team.

But Tsunoda’s performance was particularly demoralising, as he has now gone four races without a point. Speaking via The Pit Talk Podcast, former Red Bull and Minardi driver Robert Doornbos felt the Japanese driver’s performance was not ‘Formula 1 worthy’.

Discussing whether he should finish the season with the Milton Keynes outfit, he said: “He has to finish the season for Red Bull, because it just makes no sense to put another driver in at this stage.

“I think Red Bull learned from their mistake with Liam Lawson to get him out of the car that fast.

“In hindsight, it hasn’t got any better [since Perez left] to be honest. So yes, Red Bull will think: ‘OK, to swap drivers this fast in the big team is not a smart thing to do, so we’ll let Yuki finish the season’.

“But this is what they thought before the Austrian Grand Prix. But what Yuki did yesterday, come on, I mean, that is not Formula 1 worthy.

“If you make mistake after mistake at the home race of the biggest sponsor of the team, the owner of the team, the owner of the track, it’s all Red Bull. It’s their worst performance at the circuit in many, many years.”

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

Yuki Tsunoda’s future is ‘hanging by a thread’ as replacement rumours ramp up

Tsunoda claimed his driving style was similar to Verstappen’s before the Austrian GP. That statement did not age well as he suffered his worst weekend for Red Bull.

F1 fans disagreed with Christian Horner’s comments about Tsunoda’s performance, as he claimed that he did not extract the potential from the RB21. Lawson lost total confidence while driving the car in the opening two races, and even Verstappen has complained about the machine throughout 2025.

Since replacing Lawson, the Japanese driver has desperately struggled to find performance at Red Bull. Tsunoda’s future in F1 is ‘hanging by a thread’ after his disaster in Austria, with his contract being up at the end of the season.

Isack Hadjar is being tipped to replace Tsunoda, which could happen before the season is over. Ted Kravitz says dropping Tsunoda ‘doesn’t make sense’, stating that the car is the problem for his and Verstappen’s teammates’ struggles.