F1 News: Tsunoda seat still safe after Imola rollover

(GMM) Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko has reassured Yuki Tsunoda the Japanese driver’s seat is safe despite destroying his car in Imola qualifying.

The diminutive 25-year-old, drafted into the lineup following Liam Lawson’s early 2025 struggle, admitted his “really stupid” mistake that resulted in a rollover crash against the barriers.

“Five races now in the Red Bull,” he said. “It was just really stupid of me. I’m trying to be the hero in Q1. The way in which I did it is just unacceptable.”

Tsunoda was taken straight to the medical center.

“Thank God he’s fine,” Marko told Sky Deustchland. “He needs to be examined again, then he’ll be cleared to race or not. Mainly because of the rollover, he needs another fitness or health check,” the Austrian added.

Marko, 82, admits Tsunoda’s “mistake” is a “huge setback for us”.

“We’ve got three races in a row now, and Monte Carlo isn’t exactly forgiving if you slip up there. The spare parts situation has become really critical.”

Former F1 driver Timo Glock thinks the crash is also a huge personal setback for Tsunoda – the third Red Bull driver in less than a single year to apparently crumble under the pressure of serving as Max Verstappen’s teammate.

“He joins the ranks of other teammates who, alongside Verstappen, have simply been mercilessly buried,” he said. “It’s just like it was with Lawson or Sergio Perez.

“Once that whirlwind starts and you make mistakes and crash, the pressure starts to build. And then you see Verstappen repeatedly doing the impossible, putting the car in front, winning races, and you’re stuck somewhere behind.

“That has been absolute mental devastation for every teammate so far,” Glock added.

Even before Tsunoda’s huge crash, Marko has been raving about the latest Red Bull junior to enter Formula 1 at the second team Racing Bulls – Isack Hadjar.

Saturday at Imola, Glock thinks, was the “worst-case scenario” for Tsunoda.

“Now we see the next one behind him, putting the pressure on, which is Isack Hadjar,” said the German. “That’s just the merciless nature of Formula 1.”

Isack Hadjar of France and Visa Cash App Racing Bulls looks on during previews ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Emilia-Romagna at Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari on May 15, 2025 in Imola, Italy. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

Marko, however, does not seem ready to add to the pressure already piling up on Tsunoda’s shoulders.

“We have to give him security and support now,” said the 82-year-old. “And that’s what we’ll do.”

Tsunoda agrees that he still feels fully supported by Red Bull.

“The team is doing enough to keep the pressure off me,” he said.

However, after Tsunoda showed Colapinto the middle finger following an on-track incident earlier at Imola, it was Colapinto’s Argentine fans who turned up the heat on social media – often with racial undertones.

“I heard about it,” the Japanese driver admitted, “but they are not only after me. They’re also after Jack Doohan.

“I know that fans support the drivers from their own country, but there should still be room to say something.”

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Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda will start the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix from the pit lane after the team changed the car’s survival cell following his huge crash in qualifying, and fitted several parts of a new specification. A whole new engine as well.