Laurent Mekies and Helmut Marko now disagree on what to do with Yuki Tsunoda next season – journalist

Yuki Tsunoda’s Formula 1 future is set to have a huge knock-on effect within the Red Bull ranks for 2026 and beyond.

At the start of the season, everyone was fascinated by how Yuki Tsunoda would react to being overlooked by Red Bull when searching for their Sergio Perez replacement.

Despite being far less experienced, Red Bull promoted Liam Lawson, a decision they reversed just two races into the season after he struggled with the demands of being Max Verstappen’s teammate.

So, at the beginning of his fifth season on the grid, Tsunoda finally made his Red Bull debut at his home race at Suzuka.

However, the months following this have been difficult for the Japanese driver, with suggestions that Tsunoda’s F1 future hangs in the balance.

His sixth-place finish at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix was well-timed and much needed, with Liam Lawson finishing fifth and Isack Hadjar on the podium for the first time a few weeks ago at Zandvoort.

There have been suggestions that Tsunoda and Lawson are battling for a Racing Bulls seat, with Arvid Lindblad potentially making the step up from Formula 2 over the upcoming winter break.

It now appears as if Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies and advisor Helmut Marko have different plans for Verstappen’s current teammate ahead of next year.

READ MORE: Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda’s life outside F1 from height to parents

Laurent Mekies says Yuki Tsunoda decision is ‘wide open’, but Helmut Marko wants Isack Hadjar

Journalist Matt Majendie was discussing the Tsunoda conundrum on The Inside Track Podcast after Baku.

He explained: “I think he could and probably should have attained P5.

“He’ll be very pleased with P6. But if you look back on the moves there, then he perhaps should have done that P5.

“You take away from the weekend, a great result, P6, he’s in the points again, and that was huge.

“But unfortunately, again, he has a Racing Bulls ahead of him, that’s the problem.

“And the Racing Bulls ahead of him, it’s not a perfect look. But, they were very, very pleased with his pace.

“And I find it fascinating because you’ve got sort of Helmut Marko slightly suggesting behind the scenes, it would seem that the Hadjar deal is done.

“You’ve got Mekies saying that’s very much not the case. We are wide open. We’ve got these three seats open with drivers, you know who the drivers are that we’re talking to.

“I’m told the official line is that nothing has been decided. No deal has been done for next season.”

READ MORE: Best moments of Yuki Tsunoda’s F1 career including first points, greatest Grand Prix results and funniest team radio outbursts

How Helmut Marko reacted to Yuki Tsunoda’s best Red Bull result in Baku

During the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend, Mekies hinted that Marko was in charge of Racing Bulls’ 2026 line-up, something that his predecessor Christian Horner would have previously had an opinion on.

The separation of duties highlights the changes going on at Red Bull since Horner’s exit, but also puts Marko in a far stronger position than he was in before.

If Hadjar is set to race for Red Bull, then it appears as though Tsunoda’s only way of staying on the grid for a sixth season is to accept a move to Racing Bulls.

Marko was delighted with Tsunoda behind the scenes in Baku, with the Japanese driver receiving more feedback and guidance across a race weekend than before.

The struggles he and Verstappen’s previous teammates have faced might not be an issue in 2026 with the upcoming regulation changes; however, that doesn’t make Red Bull’s decision over which drivers to keep for next year any easier.