‘Very unusual’ - Why Helmut Marko has left Yuki Tsunoda puzzled

Yuki Tsunoda says he found it “very unusual” to not hear from Helmut Marko about his promotion to the Red Bull F1 team.

Red Bull last week made the brutal decision to demote Liam Lawson to their sister squad Racing Bulls just two races into his first campaign with the team, with Tsunoda being promoted as part of a direct swap.

Tsunoda, who was initially overlooked by Red Bull for 2025, becomes reigning world champion Max Verstappen’s fifth teammate since 2018 and will make his debut for the main team at this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix - his home race.

But the Japanese racer has been left perplexed not to have spoken to Red Bull driver mentor and advisor Marko since he was informed about the remarkable decision by team principal Christian Horner.

"The first call I got was from Christian right after China, that I should maybe be prepared for when things are going to change a little bit. I guess it was Tuesday or something like that,” Tsunoda said on Thursday.

"Surprisingly, [Marko] didn't call me yet, very unusual. So, I'm not sure if he was busy with other things. I can't wait to see him, how he's going to react to me [moving]. But yeah, it's very unusual.

“From F3 to F1, he was always calling me, but this time he didn't call me. So, I'm sure there's not anything from his side. We have still a good relationship, so let's see how he reacts to that.”

Yuki Tsunoda explains Christian Horner’s targets

Tsunoda, who has regularly starred for Racing Bulls, explained the targets that have been laid out to him ahead of his debut race weekend.

“[The target is] basically be as close to Max as possible, which anyway gives a good result for the team,” he said.

“Also allows to support the team’s strategy as well in the race. They clearly said the main priority is Max, which I completely understand because he’s a four-time world champion and so far, even with the car being difficult, he still performed well.

“So to be as close as possible to Max. Also help the development as well with my feedback. They seemed very happy with the feedback I gave in Abu Dhabi [end of season test] so just continue that.

“I think for now the main priority I’m having is to be as close to him, which won’t be easy for sure.”

Tsunoda also revealed that former Red Bull drivers Pierre Gasly and Sergio Perez reached out to offer support before his first race.