Red Bull chief reveals 'furious' reason for F1 snub

Tsunoda, Lawson, socials — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

Red Bull chief reveals 'furious' reason for F1 snub

Adrian Newey left Red Bull in 2024 and now works for Aston Martin

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Wednesday 2 April 2025 21:00

Helmut Marko has revealed a major reason that Yuki Tsunoda was not promoted to the senior Red Bull Formula 1 team sooner than he was.

The Japanese driver had spent four seasons in the junior AlphaTauri/Racing Bulls team coming into this season, having again been passed over for promotion in favor of Liam Lawson.

However, in an interview with Kleine Zeitung, Marko was quick to recall Tsunoda's reputation as an inconsistent driver and said: “For a long time, Yuki had the image of not performing consistently and making silly mistakes here and there.

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“That's what happened last year in Mexico, where the decisive phase for us began. With Lawson, it was the exact opposite at first: he came on and delivered straight away, no matter how great the pressure was.”

“In retrospect, however, it wasn't the right decision. In general, however, a lot can be traced back to a single incident.”

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Marko reveals why Tsunoda missed out on Red Bull promotion

“At Silverstone, Tsunoda once drove into Pierre Gasly's car, and parts of the cars on the track damaged the underbody of Verstappen's car, which cost him the race,” Marko continued.

“Adrian Newey was furious at the time. From that point on, Yuki was a red rag to him. But now Newey is gone, and Yuki has worked hard on himself.”

Newey has since left Red Bull and joined Aston Martin as their managing technical partner, where he will reportedly earn £30 million a year as he attempts to design the team a championship winning car.

Aston Martin will partner Red Bull’s current engine supplier Honda in 2026 and, if Marko’s comments are to be believed, Newey may not want Tsunoda to sign with the team should his relationship sour with Red Bull.

Red Bull Yuki Tsunoda Liam Lawson Adrian Newey Helmut Marko