Jul.4 (GMM) Amid the intense speculation surrounding Max Verstappen’s future, Dr Helmut Marko admits even Yuki Tsunoda is facing a critical period in his Formula 1 career.
Promoted – with Honda’s backing – to the senior team after the failure of Liam Lawson’s brief tenure, the Japanese driver hit a new low in Austria last weekend.
For 2025, however, Red Bull is ploughing ahead with Tsunoda.
“I definitely feel the support, now more than ever, from Christian (Horner) and Helmut,” he said on Thursday.
“I went to the south of the UK with a Red Bull physio to kind of reset myself, and that was coming from them,” Tsunoda added. “They just wanted me to have fresh air and everything.”
Marko, however, is believed to simply not want to subject rookies Isack Hadjar or Arvid Lindblad to the same sort of situation at least this season.
“The plan is for him to finish the season,” Marko confirmed to Kleine Zeitung newspaper. “Nothing has changed about that,” Marko says.
“We don’t have any alternative. We’ve had discussions with him, including with the engineering team, because he was completely out of sorts in Spielberg.
“We want to stabilise him and not set up the car so harshly as Max’s. That could help him.”
As for 2026, no matter what happens with Verstappen, impressive Racing Bulls rookie Hadjar is expected to be promoted. “I don’t know what’s going on there,” the French-Algerian said at Silverstone.
“I can only say that Yuki is very fast.”
When asked if he would do a better job than the 25-year-old, Hadjar answered: “I have no idea. But I’d like to sit in the car and try it out for myself.
“I feel mentally capable. That’s my strength. The only question is whether I have the necessary skills. Unfortunately, I can’t say that yet.”
Some think a better candidate for Red Bull would be Carlos Sainz, even though the Spaniard – and former Verstappen teammate – is under contract at Williams.
“They just seem like rumours,” Sainz insisted on Thursday.
“Williams knows my commitment and that I will be with them if the situation allows. I have complete confidence in my choice.”
It is believed Aston Martin – to unite with Honda from 2026 – has no intention of accommodating Tsunoda next year, but he is being linked with Cadillac.
Also linked with the new-in-2026 team is Mick Schumacher, with Bild newspaper reporting that the former Haas driver has signed up a brand new manager – Dirk Muller.
“Dirk is primarily my advisor,” Schumacher, who was in the paddock in Austria a week ago, said, “but he obviously has extensive experience in motorsport.”
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