The Japanese driver was the only one to be without a full-time seat in Red Bull’s driver shuffle, which confirmed Liam Lawson at Racing Bulls, Arvid Lindblad’s F1 debut, and Isack Hadjar’s promotion to Red Bull.

When asked how he received the news, Tsunoda told GPblog: “Obviously I'm disappointed and pissed off, and how I got told was right after the race (in Qatar) from Helmut privately that I won't be racing next year, so I think that's it.

When asked if he had looked elsewhere for other options, Tsunoda added: “I didn't have an option. The thing is, my contract was there, so I couldn't do much. I had a couple of interests from externally, but the contract didn't really allow me to talk with them.”

Hadjar has opened up following the news that he will race alongside Max Verstappen at Red Bull in 2026.

This week, Red Bull confirmed Hadjar’s promotion to the senior team for next season, where he will replace Yuki Tsunoda as Verstappen’s teammate.