When Yuki Tsunoda took over Liam Lawson's Red Bull seat after just two weekends, I think everyone thought 'well he can't possibly do worsef' despite the somewhat unfairness of the rapid demotion.
But now four months later ... it's probably worse.
Tsunoda's 2025 F1 efforts have been nonexistent and only seem to not be as glaringly poor as Lawson because Red Bull has tried to push it down and stomach this for the rest of the year as to not make two driver moves midseason.
Tsunoda's stats
Standings Position: 18th
Points: 10
Best Finish: 9th
Best Qualifying Position: 5th (with Racing Bulls. Best with Red Bull is 7th)
Head-to-head race finishes (vs. Verstappen): 1-11
Head-to-head qualifying (vs. Verstappen):
Head-to-head points: 10-187
What Tsunoda has done well: He's coping with a car designed for one man
Well ... there's not much to say that has been positive. But when you talk about his struggles, it's impossible to say that what has happened is because of Tsunoda's abilities. Everyone knows the car is the main issue.
The second Red Bull seat has been a bear that no one has really been able to deal with well. Sergio Perez had some solid efforts, but never really got close to Max Verstappen. The last driver to really show they had a handle on the seat was Daniel Ricciardo.
Even Verstappen himself has pointed out that driving the Racing Bulls cars is probably a more ideal situation to be in.
It begs the question of if the new regulations in 2026 will bring a car that both drivers an deal with, or it'll be another Verstappen machine.
But for now, Red Bull is simply going to try and take the brunt of a season with a driver in 18th and their lead driver continuously fading away from being in the conversation to win races.
Tsunoda's weak spots: Just about everything has gone wrong
To this day, Tsunoda's best qualifying effort came in the Racing Bulls at Australia. The one-lap pace has been truly the most shocking.
He's lined up 18th or worse five times. He's only made it to Q3 one single time over the last four months (Belgium, P7).
Tsunoda being just under four tenths back of Verstappen at Spa was considered a major victory, but he then went out in Q1 at Hungary. Yes, Verstappen's qualifying efforts are some of the best the sport has ever seen, but Tsunoda hasn't even been in the same stratosphere.
In the races, it feels like the only time Tsunoda gets a mention is when he makes an overtake for somewhere around 15th against a car that, on paper, is much slower than his.
Tsunoda hasn't put a point on the board since Imola (where he came in 10th), nearly four months ago. To this day, 30% of this points haul came in the two races he had with Racing Bulls. He's averaging a 15.3 finish over his last four weekends, including dropping from 7th to 13th at Spa.
The most brutal look for Tsunoda is how he is being completely outpaced by both Racing Bulls drivers as well. Lawson has doubled his point total, and Isack Hadjar has too, despite him not scoring points since the first day of June.
Look, this felt like a takedown of Tsunoda and maybe that's not fair. But the numbers are not pretty. What's next for him is really up to how much patience the team wants to have with him and throw this season away. Otherwise, it might be Hadjar's turn in 2026.