Red Bull F1 boss Christian Horner fires warning shot at Yuki Tsunoda after Austrian Grand Prix nightmare

Tsunoda, Horner, socials — Photo: © IMAGO

Red Bull

Red Bull chief Christian Horner fires warning shot at Yuki Tsunoda after Austrian GP nightmare

The Japanese racer finished 16th at the Red Bull Ring last weekend

Kevin McKenna

Wednesday 2 July 2025 20:54

Red Bull F1 boss Christian Horner has issued a stern warning to underperforming driver Yuki Tsunoda following his latest showing.

The Japanese racer endured a dismal day at last weekend's Austrian Grand Prix, finishing last of all remaining runners.

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A late collision with Alpine's Franco Colapinto was enough to earn him a 10-second time penalty, while the addition of two points on his FIA Super Licence further compounded his misery.

Tsunoda - not for the first time this season - cut a dejected figure post-race as he searched for an explanation behind his struggles, and while Horner had some sympathy for him, he insisted that he must improve.

"We need to understand with Yuki what’s gone wrong [this weekend]," he told F1 TV. "FP1 and FP2, certainly FP2 and FP3, he was looking okay. Qualifying it seemed to fall apart for him.

"When you’re out of position, you’re down the pack like that, when it’s so tight… he’s struggling, I think he’s struggling for confidence. But we’ll work with him, we’ll try and help him through it.

Yuki Tsunoda has had a difficult start to his Red Bull career

"It's a car that’s evolved over the years around the development path that we’ve taken.

"It isn’t an easy car to drive, but it’s not that difficult either. We’ll work with him and hopefully it’ll make a step up in Silverstone."

Red Bull problems mount ahead of Silverstone

Tsunoda was drafted in after just two grands prix in 2025 to replace Liam Lawson, who had taken over from Sergio Perez.

But despite a promising start, points have been hard to come by, with just seven accumulated in nine outings to date.

Much has been made of the unenviable task which faces Red Bull drivers not named Max Verstappen - who crashed out on the opening lap in Spielberg - and Tsunoda is the latest to fall short of expectations.

With his long-term career at Red Bull hanging by a thread, he goes into this weekend's British GP under real pressure to show that he is deserving of his seat.