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Motorsport
Lydia Mee

Yuki Tsunoda warned of "insane" challenge ahead of Racing Bulls F1 return

Yuki Tsunoda Racing Bulls F1 Jolyon Palmer Alex Brundle Red Bull Zandvoort

Yuki Tsunoda faces an "insane" task as he steps into the Racing Bulls Formula 1 car at Zandvoort, having never previously driven the 2026-spec machinery, according to F1 TV analysts Jolyon Palmer and Alex Brundle.

The Japanese driver has been handed a surprise grand prix return following a reshuffle across Red Bull and Racing Bulls ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix.

A wrist injury sustained by Isack Hadjar ruled the Frenchman out of action. As a result, Liam Lawson will step up to Red Bull and reserve driver Tsunoda will fill the New Zealander's spot at Racing Bulls.

"The mental side of it is going to be insane for him," Palmer said of Tsunoda during the F1 TV Weekend Warm-Up show. "The rest of the drivers had three tests before we had the first race, bar Williams, who didn't turn up for the first one.

"But they had so much time to figure out energy management, the different driving styles."

Complicating matters for Tsunoda is the fact that it is a sprint race weekend, meaning there will be just one hour of practice before sprint qualifying on Friday afternoon.

Yuki Tsunoda, Racing Bulls (Photo by: Eric Le Galliot)

"Yuki's got to do that in one hour," Palmer added. "He's driven some TPC, so that's old cars, but he hasn't driven this one. And they are so different compared to the last car that he'd raced.

"So to figure that out and then head into a sprint. You're at Zandvoort where you've got walls and gravel traps lining the circuit. It's really, really a big test. So if he gets near the points, I will be impressed with Yuki."

Brundle also noted the difficulty of coming in at Zandvoort. "I hope Yuki Tsunoda's been keeping it up in the gym because it's eight and a half months since he last started a grand prix and this is not an easy track physically," he said.

"I'm sure he is absolutely ready to jump in the car as a reserve driver for Red Bull, but it's going to be a tough weekend to get your head around the systems and also the physicality of these cars."

Photos from Dutch GP - Friday

49Formula 1 George Russell, Mercedes

Dutch Grand Prix - Friday

 George Russell, Mercedes

Dutch Grand Prix - Friday

 Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

Dutch Grand Prix - Friday

 Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Dutch Grand Prix - Friday

 Lando Norris, McLaren

Dutch Grand Prix - Friday

 Gabriel Bortoleto, Audi F1 Team

Dutch Grand Prix - Friday

 Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team

Dutch Grand Prix - Friday

 Liam Lawson, Red Bull

Dutch Grand Prix - Friday

 Pierre Gasly, Alpine

Dutch Grand Prix - Friday

 Charles Leclerc, Ferrari

Dutch Grand Prix - Friday

 Lando Norris, McLaren

Dutch Grand Prix - Friday

 Charles Leclerc, Ferrari

Dutch Grand Prix - Friday

 Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls, Oscar Piastri, McLaren

Dutch Grand Prix - Friday

 Oscar Piastri, McLaren

Dutch Grand Prix - Friday

 Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing

Dutch Grand Prix - Friday

 Lando Norris, McLaren

Dutch Grand Prix - Friday

 Oscar Piastri, McLaren

Dutch Grand Prix - Friday

 Nico Hülkenberg, Audi F1 Team

Dutch Grand Prix - Friday

 Franco Colapinto, Alpine

Dutch Grand Prix - Friday

 Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team

Dutch Grand Prix - Friday

 Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls

Dutch Grand Prix - Friday

 Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Dutch Grand Prix - Friday

 Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team, Sergio Perez, Cadillac Racing

Dutch Grand Prix - Friday

 Gabriel Bortoleto, Audi F1 Team, Franco Colapinto, Alpine

Dutch Grand Prix - Friday

 Oscar Piastri, McLaren

Dutch Grand Prix - Friday

 Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Dutch Grand Prix - Friday

 Oscar Piastri, McLaren

Dutch Grand Prix - Friday

 Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team

Dutch Grand Prix - Friday

 Lando Norris, McLaren

Dutch Grand Prix - Friday

 Yuki Tsunoda

Dutch Grand Prix - Friday

 Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls

Dutch Grand Prix - Friday

 Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Dutch Grand Prix - Friday

 Grandstand

Dutch Grand Prix - Friday

 Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing, Valtteri Bottas, Cadillac Racing, Lance Stroll, Aston Martin Racing, Sergio Perez, Cadillac Racing

Dutch Grand Prix - Friday

 Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Dutch Grand Prix - Friday

 Lando Norris, McLaren

Dutch Grand Prix - Friday

 Fans gathered for the stage

Dutch Grand Prix - Friday

 Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls

Dutch Grand Prix - Friday

 Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team

Dutch Grand Prix - Friday

 Carlos Sainz, Williams

Dutch Grand Prix - Friday

 Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls

Dutch Grand Prix - Friday

 Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls

Dutch Grand Prix - Friday

 Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing

Dutch Grand Prix - Friday

 Oscar Piastri, McLaren

Dutch Grand Prix - Friday

 Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Dutch Grand Prix - Friday

 Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team

Dutch Grand Prix - Friday

 Franco Colapinto, Alpine

Dutch Grand Prix - Friday

 Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing

Dutch Grand Prix - Friday

 George Russell, Mercedes

Dutch Grand Prix - Friday

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