Are the new F1 cars too easy? Here’s what Yuki Tsunoda has to say about Verstappen’s theory

After Yuki Tsunoda finished the 2025 season in 17th place, he had to give up his seat. The gap was simply too wide compared to his formidable Red Bull Racing team-mate Max Verstappen, who missed out on retaining the title by two points and finished the season in second place behind Lando Norris.

Whilst Isack Hadjar was given the chance to take over Tsunoda’s seat in Red Bull’s A-team, the Japanese driver had to settle for a place on the reserve bench. It didn’t take long, however, for him to return to the Formula 1 starting grid. This was because Hadjar injured his left wrist during the summer break and was unable to compete at either Zandvoort or Monza. The Frenchman will not be racing at the Madrid circuit either.

Liam Lawson from the Racing Bulls team was promoted to the Red Bull Racing cockpit as a replacement. Tsunoda took his place, having, like the New Zealander, put in strong performances. This raised the question of whether it is easier to push to the limit in the 2026 cars. And Verstappen explained: “I don’t want to be disrespectful. And I hope nobody takes this the wrong way. But Yuki gets into a car he’s never driven before and is competitive straight away. Liam switches from the Racing Bulls car to ours – and is fast straight away too.”

Yuki Tsunoda remains calm

“These cars aren’t as sensitive to the driver’s input. Of course, you still have to put in a good lap, and you have to push to the limit. The fastest drivers will always come out on top. But the influence is really limited,” emphasised the four-time world champion.

On the sidelines of the Madring, Tsunoda was asked about these comments. He explained: “That’s his opinion – I don’t know. To be honest, I’ve only read about it. It’s certainly a different car to the 2025 racer. Of course, the whole energy management system is different. And it’s true that in some corners you can’t really go full throttle. I saw that at Monza. But that’s all there is to it. I’m not drawing any further conclusions from these comments and I’m not comparing them with my results. In my opinion, my performance in the two races was very much down to my own efforts. I think I simply did a good job.”

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