Max Verstappen has responded for the first time to the demotion of his teammate Yuki Tsunoda. After a disappointing season with Red Bull, the Japanese driver has been replaced by Isack Hadjar, although he remains part of the Red Bull family as the new reserve driver. According to Verstappen, his team has made the right decision.
The news had been anticipated for some time, but it was made official shortly after the Qatar Grand Prix: Yuki Tsunoda will no longer be Max Verstappen’s teammate in 2026. Tsunoda has been replaced by Isack Hadjar and will now serve as the reserve driver for the Austrian team. The timing of the announcement – just before the season finale in Abu Dhabi – caused some surprise in the paddock, but according to Verstappen, Tsunoda had known about it for some time.
“It’s not as if decisions were only made on that day,” Verstappen refers to the moment the news was made public. “It’s a team decision. I haven’t noticed any change in his reaction or anything like that. As a driver, you always have to be there for the team, and that doesn’t change.”
‘Logical Choice’
Throughout the year, Tsunoda had been consistently outperformed by his teammate – only during the sprint qualification in Qatar did the Japanese driver rank higher than Verstappen – so his demotion within Red Bull was not unexpected. Verstappen also understands his team’s decision. “It’s quite the logical choice, there’s not much to say about it, really,” concludes Verstappen.
