Tsunoda left fuming after Sprint quali miscue as Red Bull hands him an apology — and a headache
Yuki Tsunoda’s Friday in Austin ended with a shrug and a shake of the head. His final lap never happened, his SQ1 ended early, and his Sprint grid spot is a lonely P18. The reason? A timing call that came a beat too late — and an immediate apology from the Red Bull pit wall.
Tsunoda, under the microscope as 2026 driver moves swirl around Milton Keynes, didn’t mince words after hopping out of the RB21. “The timing of the garage exit was not even close,” he said, clearly irritated. “Something went wrong and we didn’t have any opportunity to do a lap time. Very frustrating, because it’s not under my control. It was more up to them rather than myself, managing the timing. It’s pretty shocking.”
He wasn’t wrong about the mechanics of it. In the first phase of Sprint Qualifying, Red Bull opted to cool the tyres in the garage rather than on track, gambling on a late push. It left Tsunoda on the wrong side of the flag — literally. The chequered fell before he reached the line to start his final run.
Team boss Laurent Mekies held his hands up shortly after. “We got it wrong. Honestly, we apologise to Yuki,” he told TV. “The programme was a bit too tight. It was a choice between staying out and cooling down on track, or trying to cool down a bit better in the garage. We thought we’d have time to come back and get out again, but it was only possible for two cars to do that and we missed the cut. We owe Yuki an apology.”
It’s one error on a busy Sprint weekend — they happen — but the timing is rough for Tsunoda. His form and future are being weighed in real time, with the 2026 seats already forming a grid of their own behind the scenes. Isack Hadjar, impressing at Racing Bulls, has planted his flag as a genuine contender within the Red Bull system. That doesn’t mean the writing’s on the wall for Tsunoda, but it does change the lighting in the room.
And this is the part that stings: the other side of the garage turned the same session into a headline. Max Verstappen stuck his car on Sprint pole, with Lando Norris alongside and championship leader Oscar Piastri third. Same track, same wind, same windows — different outcomes. That contrast never helps when your position is under scrutiny.
Tsunoda’s frustration is understandable. Drivers can accept their own errors; they can live with a car’s shortcomings. The hardest pill is the one with “procedural” stamped on the label. He was lively through the opening laps, there was pace in hand, and then there wasn’t a lap to bank. In a field this tight, you can’t spot the grid a dozen cars and hope it comes back to you.
What next? The Sprint offers a chance to stem the bleeding, bank a couple of points if chaos strikes, and set up Sunday with a clearer head. Red Bull, for its part, will make sure the debrief is brisk and honest. This group is not in the habit of repeating operational slips.
Big picture, the Tsunoda conversation hasn’t changed overnight. The 2025 season remains his audition to lock down the future he’s worked toward — and there have been weekends this year where he’s shown exactly why the team promoted him. But in a junior pipeline as unforgiving as Red Bull’s, every misstep, fair or not, is magnified. Friday’s was on the team, and they said so. The only way to balance the ledger is to turn the next session into a result.
As for the front? Verstappen did Verstappen things: clinical laps, margin in hand, job done. Norris kept him honest, Piastri lurks with the points lead, and the Sprint itself should be spicy in the thin Texas air with tyre life on a knife edge.
Tsunoda, meanwhile, has the kind of Saturday that defines a driver’s mettle. If there’s one thing we’ve learned about him over the years, it’s that the fire doesn’t go out easily. Which is good, because the spotlight isn’t dimming anytime soon.
