Demoted from a race seat at the end of 2025, Yuki Tsunoda remains with Red Bull as a 2026 reserve driver and says he is training harder than ever, staying immersed in the team’s work to earn a return to the grid in 2027. He will support Max Verstappen’s side of the garage and back up the organization while Isack Hadjar steps into a race seat for 2026.
Tsunoda is sidelined after a winless 2025 that brought no World Championship points. The gap to Verstappen grew across the year, and Red Bull moved to promote junior driver Hadjar for 2026. Tsunoda chose to stay in the Formula 1 paddock rather than take options in IndyCar or the World Endurance Championship. He accepted a reserve and test role that places him in briefings, keeps him on standby for Friday starts, and assigns him heavy simulator and development work at Milton Keynes.
He says he has raised his training load and is in the best physical shape of his career. The reserve year is a mental test, since he will watch most races from the garage or the factory. He stresses that he is ready to step in at short notice and deliver if needed. The plan is to use every run, every debrief, and every night session in the simulator to show growth and sharpen race craft for 2027.
Red Bull leadership has kept the door open. Laurent Mekies has spoken well of Tsunoda’s speed and work rate and sees him as a leading option for a full-time slot in 2027. The market could move in his favor. Honda’s role in future projects, expected changes after Fernando Alonso’s anticipated 2027 retirement, and possible openings at teams such as Aston Martin will shape the path back. Tsunoda’s aim is to be the best prepared candidate when a seat becomes free.
The reserve job also has a practical edge. It keeps Tsunoda inside Red Bull’s system as a plug-in option for either team if illness, injury, or form triggers a switch. It puts him in front of the decision-makers who run car development and driver selection. Red Bull has told him to stay ready because grid situations can change fast across a long season. Tsunoda’s bet is that full access to data, coaching, and simulator tools in 2026 will make his case stronger than any result he could chase outside F1. His target is clear: convert a year of preparation into a 2027 comeback.