Yuki Tsunoda will return to the Formula 1 cockpit for a demonstration event in San Francisco.
The Red Bull test and reserve driver will join former F1 and rallycross driver Scott Speed, Ford off-road racer Mitch Guthrie and freestyle motocross rider Aaron Colton. Tsunoda will drive Red Bull’s double-championship-winning 2011 RB7 car.
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“I can’t wait to get back behind the wheel of an F1 car and [the] RB7 in San Francisco is going to be great,” Tsunoda said. “I’m really looking forward to getting out there, making some donuts and making some real F1 noise in front of the crowd. “
The Japanese driver loses his full-time F1 seat at the end of 2025. 2026 is Tsunoda’s sixth year in the Red Bull family. After making his debut with AlphaTauri (now Racing Bulls) in 2021, he remained with the Red Bull sister team until the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix, when he replaced Liam Lawson at the team then led by Christian Horner.
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Tsunoda has until the end of the 2025 season to prove he’s worthy of an extension. However, Red Bull opted to keep the 25-year-old as test and reserve driver, promoting Bulls driver Isack Hadjar to ride alongside four-time champion Max Verstappen.
Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies, who will succeed Horner in July 2025, explained the decision to make the “difficult decision”.
“It was a very difficult decision. The second seat at Red Bull is not easy. We have a very difficult car to drive. Of course we have done everything we can to support Yuki.
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“At some stage we have to make a hard choice between where we want to go in the next few years.”
Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull Racing
Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull Racing
He added: “I hope, and I think, that Yuki will get another chance. He will be our reserve driver next year. You never know what will happen. In the past, we have been known for making pretty quick driver decisions. I remember one moment – at the end of the 2024 season, when Yuki was driving really well.
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“It was difficult for him to digest. Liam was getting promoted at Red Bull Racing. Going into the winter he was wondering, is he going to get that opportunity one day?
“He came back and we set goals for the team at that time to maximize everything – to shoot for the stars. Three races later he was driving for Red Bull. So you never know what the future holds. I’m sure everyone in this room and elsewhere has experienced setbacks – sometimes difficult setbacks.
“It’s a setback for him. But I believe he has a lot of stuff that will give him another chance.”
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