Yuki Tsunoda will launch his Hungarian Grand Prix from the pitlane after his Red Bull team opted to break Formula 1’s parc fermé rules to install new power unit elements, incurring a penalty that drops him from his original 16th-place qualifying position.
The decision comes after a challenging weekend for the Milton Keynes-based squad in Budapest where Tsunoda struggled with a lack of grip and pace, and where Max Verstappen only qualified P8.
“It's been a frustrating weekend so far for the team,” the Japanese driver commented after qualifying. “We've struggled to find pace and the lack of grip cost us time.”
Despite the team’s struggles, Tsunoda found some personal positives in his performance.
“My team are trying to find the solution, but we just haven't yet,” he added.
"Personally, I can feel reasonable about my performance in qualifying, I've stayed close to Max all weekend and that’s a positive for myself. I didn't make any mistakes in the session and I only missed out on Q2 by a few milliseconds which, unfortunately, is how it has been lately.”
New Power Unit, New Start
According to the FIA’s technical delegate’s report, Tsunoda has taken a fifth internal combustion engine (ICE), surpassing the mandated season limit of four.
“The internal combustion engine used by Yuki Tsunoda is the fifth (5ᵗʰ) of the four (4) new internal combustion engines allowed for the 2025 Championship season and this is not in conformity with Article 28.2 of the 2025 Formula One Sporting Regulations,” the report confirmed.
The Japanese driver’s car has also been fitted with a fifth turbocharger and a fifth motor generator unit-heat (MGU-H).
Mekies: “We haven’t given our drivers the car they wanted”
Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies echoed Tsunoda’s concerns, saying both drivers have lacked confidence in the car’s handling all weekend.
“We've been struggling since yesterday,” Mekies told Sky Sports F1 after final practice. “It's been very difficult to put the car in the right window, to give Max and Yuki the right feeling.
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“We've now tried a number of things to turn the car around, but I have to say it's probably the same sort of feeling today, and not finding the grip overall.
“So, uncomfortable, but you know, it's in this sort of situation that you learn something. So we are trying to do quite a few tests to understand where the limitation is, where the track is. But so far, it's fair to say that we haven't given our drivers the car they wanted.”
With Tsunoda now set to launch his race from the pitlane, Red Bull’s Hungarian GP challenge grows steeper.
However, both team and driver have pledged to use the adversity to gather data — and perhaps pull something back on Sunday, especially if weather or strategy come into play.
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