Going back to ‘Racing Bulls set-ups’ key to Red Bull progress

Yuki Tsunoda says he has found “the right direction” under the guidance of new Red Bull Formula 1 boss Laurent Mekies, running set-ups more similar to the ones he used at Racing Bulls.

Tsunoda delivered his best weekend of the current F1 campaign during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, as in a chaotic qualifying the Japanese driver kept his cool and reached Q3. On Sunday, Tsunoda followed up with sixth, his best result at Red Bull, and even more importantly he finished ahead of Lando Norris, precisely what Red Bull wants to see from him: helping Max Verstappen by taking points off rivals. 

Although Isack Hadjar is still on pole position for promotion to Red Bull in 2026, according to paddock insiders, the upcoming weeks are still highly important for Tsunoda’s future. Helmut Marko has mentioned the Mexican GP at the end of October as a potential reference point, with both seats at sister team Racing Bulls still up for grabs.  

Tsunoda knows he has to prove himself, although he believes his Baku performance shows he is on the right track. 

“I didn’t talk to Helmut, or anyone from Red Bull, after Baku, but for me the target is clear. The thing I have to do is quite clear,” Tsunoda said. “I’ve shown those things in one race so far, at least in one good race with P6.

“But as soon as I came here for the second half of the season, I think the Q3 performances are there and the points are there. It’s going in the right direction. I’m at least showing that I’m able to improve myself compared to the first half of the season.” 

After the summer break, Tsunoda scored points both in Zandvoort (ninth) and Baku (sixth), though Monza turned out to be more difficult. In the entire first half of the season, he managed to finish in the points just three times. 

Mekies helping Tsunoda with Racing Bulls-style set-up 

Part of the explanation lies in the progress Red Bull has made as a whole. The Milton Keynes-based team was more competitive in recent races than at any other point this year, and on top of that, Tsunoda has the same specification as Verstappen since Monza. 

Another – and perhaps more important – factor is the arrival of Laurent Mekies as Red Bull’s new team boss. The Frenchman knows Tsunoda well from their time at Racing Bulls and is now applying that knowledge at the main team. 

“Laurent has helped me with a lot of things. The set-up that I tried two races ago, for example, was the one that I used at almost every race at VCARB,” Tsunoda explained. “I kind of forgot about these things, also that specific set-up, as I thought it was default at the previous team. When I came to this team, it was different how they set up the car and things like that.”

Mekies has played an active role in finding the ‘Racing Bulls feeling’ again and trying to give Tsunoda more confidence within the senior team, the 25-year-old says.  

“Laurent told the engineering side ‘okay, Yuki was doing these kinds of things to add some performance on one of the axles or to drive it around certain corners’. When I tried those things in the Red Bull car, they actually still worked,” Tsunoda explained. “The feeling that I got from the car is much more familiar now, more what I used to have.” 

Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull Racing Team

Photo by: Andy Hone/ LAT Images via Getty Images

It underlines that Mekies understands what Tsunoda needs, and by actively pursuing this, is trying to help him succeed as much as he can at the main team. That is, logically, also in Mekies’ own interest and the team’s, as every point counts – especially with Mercedes only 18 points ahead of Red Bull in the constructors’ standings. 

It also marks a difference with his predecessor Christian Horner. Thanks to his technical background, Mekies can translate driver feedback – in this case, Tsunoda’s – more easily to the engineering team than someone without that expertise. Finally, it says something about Tsunoda himself as well. The Japanese driver apparently needed Mekies’ guidance, as he had not thought of these options on his own. It highlights the technical background that a modern F1 driver needs to reach the very top.

Tsunoda himself swiftly admitted that during media day in Singapore: “Without Laurent’s ideas, I wouldn’t have been able to come up with it myself. That’s what I appreciate. Also on the relationship side, it’s always been very good. It’s literally what I used to have at VCARB. It feels exactly the same, just the team logos are different now when I speak with him!” 

Whether it can change Tsunoda’s fate remains to be seen, but at the very least it gives him confidence that he can show more of himself in the weeks ahead. 

“I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing. I obviously want to show more, but I think those things will come naturally with my efforts,” he added. “My confidence and understanding of the car are getting better, I just need to put it all together. But I think it’s definitely going in the right direction.

“The feeling I got in Baku was different from most of the other races. Sometimes I was more dependent on luck or whatever, but I feel that in Baku I could get P6 without any luck or anything, that’s good.” 

It’s the momentum Tsunoda wants to build on in Singapore – regardless of what it may or may not bring him for the upcoming F1 season and beyond. 

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– The Autosport.com Team