F1 star issues 'frustrating' farewell message as driver exit confirmed

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F1 star issues 'frustrating' farewell message as driver exit confirmed

Yuki Tsunoda competed in his last race for Red Bull

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Monday 8 December 2025 22:12

Yuki Tsunoda’s last race with Red Bull prompted a ‘frustrating’ farewell message from the F1 star.

Prior to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Red Bull confirmed their driver lineup for 2026 and that Isack Hadjar will replace Tsunoda at the main team.

Instead of demoting Tsunoda back to Racing Bulls, F2 star Arvid Lindblad will compete alongside Liam Lawson in 2026, and the Japanese racer has been relegated to test and reserve driver.

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In his last race for Red Bull, Tsunoda attempted to hold up Lando Norris and back him into the clutches of Charles Leclerc, only to pull off some pretty dangerous defending on the straight.

As Norris attempted an overtake, Tsunoda changed direction on multiple occasions and pushed the McLaren off track, where the Brit was forced to pull off the manoeuvre.

Tsunoda was awarded a five-second time penalty for the action, and was unable to play a further part in helping team-mate Max Verstappen win the title.

Reflecting on his final race via his social media, Tsunoda wrote: “It’s a shame we couldn’t end the year on a high, especially with a frustrating penalty. A big congrats to Lando on the championship and Max on the win.”

Tsunoda reflects on Red Bull exit

Speaking to the media ahead of the Abu Dhabi GP weekend, Tsunoda reflected on his exit and whether it would have been better to remain at Racing Bulls.

“I’m not saying I don’t have regret at all,” he explained.

“I’m missing the Racing Bulls car, which part of the car I developed since the regulations started. Some DNA is in there and you throw out your baby. So, I missed that and kind of regret that.

“At the same time, I don’t mostly regret it. I kind of understand it why this seat is a little bit difficult, but at the same time I think, towards the end especially, the team gave me a lot of support.

“I think at the last few races, it looks like I’m struggling, because sometimes I was exiting Q1. If you look at the result, it’s a lot different, but I see consistently the difference between me and Max. I can’t remember the last time I was four-and-a-half tenths back.

“I’m pretty happy with it. I jumped in in the middle of the season, he drove this car for four years, and being this close is something [of a] different situation to a lot of drivers who were driving [here] before.”

Red Bull Yuki Tsunoda Abu Dhabi Grand Prix