Red Bull Racing is spiraling into one of its biggest internal crises in years — and at the center of the chaos is Yuki Tsunoda. His enormous performance gap to Max Verstappen has become impossible to ignore, raising urgent questions about whether he still belongs in the team.
Under normal circumstances, the decision would already be made.
Red Bull would cut him instantly — that’s their reputation.
But things have changed under the leadership of Laurent Mekies, freshly arrived from Ferrari. Instead of following Red Bull’s famously ruthless driver policy, Mekies is taking a much more cautious, emotionally complex approach… and it’s shaking the entire structure of the team.
Mekies’ history with Tsunoda goes back years. He watched him rise through the Red Bull and Honda pipeline, understands his strengths, and knows the pressure he carries. That personal connection is now colliding with the cold statistics of Tsunoda’s disappointing season — creating a genuine conflict inside Red Bull’s decision-making.
The alternatives don’t make things easier.
Isak Hajar has raw speed, but his battle with self-doubt raises serious concerns about whether he could survive the brutal intensity of a Red Bull seat.
Arvid Lindblad is exciting, gifted, and fast — but his lack of consistency could be dangerous for a top-tier team preparing for a new era.
With the massive 2026 regulation overhaul looming, Red Bull cannot afford a reckless gamble. Promoting an inexperienced driver at the wrong moment could destabilize the team for seasons to come. And this is exactly where Tsunoda’s experience suddenly becomes valuable — he knows the system, the engineers, the structure, and can provide stability when the team might need it most.
Inside Red Bull, opinions are clashing fiercely. Some demand an immediate change. Others argue that Tsunoda deserves one final chance. The hesitation itself reveals something extraordinary:
Mekies may be rewriting Red Bull’s famously merciless philosophy.
As the decision deadline draws closer, the pressure intensifies.
The future of the team, the direction heading into 2026, and Tsunoda’s entire career path are now tightly intertwined — and one wrong move could trigger chaos.
The F1 world is watching, breathless, waiting for the verdict:
Will Tsunoda be saved… or sacrificed?
