Yuki Tsunoda’s long-awaited promotion from Racing Bulls to Red Bull Racing was supposed to be the breakthrough moment that cemented his place in Formula 1.
Instead, as he faces life on the sidelines for 2026, the Japanese driver has admitted that his biggest regret is not about the promotion itself – but about what he left behind.
That regret centres on the Racing Bulls VCARB 02, a car Tsunoda now believes was quietly one of the strongest midfield packages on the grid, and one he never got the chance to fully exploit.
A fast start – and a sudden call-up
Tsunoda began the 2025 season with Racing Bulls and quickly found form, helping the Faenza-based team punch above its weight in the opening races. But after just three Grands Prix, Red Bull intervened.
Liam Lawson’s struggles at the senior team prompted an early-season reshuffle, with Tsunoda finally handed the promotion he had been chasing for four years. While the move fulfilled a career ambition, it also meant walking away from a car he had helped shape since the current regulations were introduced.
Reflecting on that decision now, Tsunoda admitted the emotional conflict it created.
“Probably I was saying that I didn’t have any regrets,” he told reporters last weekend in Abu Dhabi. “I mean, the only regret I have is like missing out that pretty good f***ing car in VCARB.
“But also like throwing away your kids, your baby, because it’s the car that I developed with the team throughout the years, since we had this regulation.
“And I’m sure there’s my DNA inside as well. So obviously missing out that and finishing out without finally able to get in the level that we wanted is something that I miss it.”
A Red Bull spell that never settled
Tsunoda’s long-awaited step up ultimately proved short-lived. Struggling to consistently match Max Verstappen in the RB21, he found himself under pressure almost immediately. An early Q1 crash at Imola became a defining moment, setting him back at a time when Verstappen was receiving upgrades first – a recurring theme throughout the season.
Tsunoda insists, however, that the raw performance gap was often misleading.
“But at the same time, yeah, I don’t regret much that decision [the move to Red Bull], I would say,” he explained. “And still now, I think Imola is for sure something that I look back that frustrates me a lot still, because the crash I had was very unnecessary and I couldn’t avoid.
“But also that, for sure, that made myself [be] in the back step in terms of parts. But at the same time, if you look at the whole season, maybe the second half of the season especially, if you just look at results exiting Q1 and he’s [Verstappen] in top three, top four, results look bad, but at the same time, if you see just the performance, like just even the time that I exit Q1, I can’t remember the last time I was behind him four tenths of a half, five tenths of a half.
“And once I got exactly the same car, I was very competitive with him. And I think that’s what this season was struggling at and I can’t [tell you how] proud of myself how I grew up and how I grew up the season.
“Obviously, I can’t deny that he’s the best driver in the group, but at the same time, I’m happy that I was able to catch up quite quickly.
“At this level, myself, especially this very, very tight field, you know, all these years, the tightest field in history, so, yeah, that’s it.”
What might have been
Ultimately, Red Bull opted to move on, replacing Tsunoda with rookie sensation Isack Hadjar and leaving the Japanese driver without a race seat for 2026. He will remain with the team in a test and reserve capacity – but his reflections suggest a lingering sense of unfinished business.
Not at Red Bull, but at Racing Bulls.
In Tsunoda’s eyes, the VCARB 02 was a car still on an upward trajectory, one built around years of shared understanding between driver and team.
Leaving it behind for a chance that never truly settled may have been unavoidable – but it is the one decision he now wishes had played out differently.
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