It felt like Yuki Tsunoda was being put out of his misery once Red Bull announced he would not be a part of their plans - at least, in a racing capacity - in 2026. Isack Hadjar's promotion to the main squad, Liam Lawson's retention at Racing Bulls, and Arvid Lindblad's promotion into F1 has pushed Tsunoda into the wilderness.
It was almost entirely expected, although it nonetheless felt as if Tsunoda was being set up to fail. Limited running with a car known to be as user-friendly as a slightly complicated space shuttle put Tsunoda on the back foot, and today's fine margins means that a 0.3-0.4s deficit to a team-mate in title contention is often the difference between challenging for pole and elimination in Q2.
