Yuki Tsunoda retains Red Bull’s support after his dramatic Imola qualifying crash, with Helmut Marko confirming no threat to his seat.
Red Bull advisor Dr. Helmut Marko has confirmed that Tsunoda’s seat remains safe, even after the Japanese driver destroyed his car during qualifying at Imola.
Tsunoda, who was brought in following Liam Lawson’s early-season struggles in 2025, openly admitted fault for what he called a “really stupid” mistake that ended with his car flipping into the barriers.
“Five races now with Red Bull. That was really stupid on my part,” Tsunoda said. “I was trying to be a hero in Q1. The way I went about it was simply unacceptable.”
The RB21 required a full rebuild, and Red Bull has confirmed that Tsunoda will start the race from the pit lane at 3 p.m.
Following the crash, he was immediately taken to the medical center.
“Thank God he’s okay,” said Marko. “He will need to undergo another check on Sunday before being cleared to race. Because of the rollover, we need to ensure everything is fine with his health.”
Marko, now 82, acknowledged that the crash was “a huge setback for us.”
“We have three races in a row now, and Monaco is especially unforgiving. The spare parts situation is becoming critical.”
Even before Tsunoda’s heavy accident, Marko had been full of praise for Isack Hadjar, the latest Red Bull junior now competing in Formula 1 with Racing Bulls.
Despite the clear frustration, Marko is making a conscious effort not to pile additional pressure on Tsunoda.
“Right now, we need to give him stability and support. That’s what we’re going to do. There’s no point threatening to take away his seat after every mistake. If we do that, we won’t get anything useful out of him.”
Tsunoda says he still feels fully supported by the Red Bull organization.
“The team is doing everything it can to relieve the pressure on me.”
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