Tsunoda Returns to Racing Bulls After Dutch GP Call-Up
NXTbets Pro | Published On: August 22, 2026
Tsunoda returns
Yuki Tsunoda was back in a Racing Bulls seat for the Dutch Grand Prix weekend after Isack Hadjar’s wrist injury opened a spot and sent Liam Lawson up to Red Bull for the weekend. Tsunoda filled the vacant Racing Bulls car alongside Arvid Lindblad, and the move caught him off guard while he was on a beach holiday in Greece. He said he was asked to fly to Red Bull’s U.K. facility and get ready after just 24 hours away. Tsunoda said the scramble did not slow his preparation. He pointed to training, simulator work and four TPC tests as the reason he felt sharp when the call came. He also made clear how much he wanted the chance back. Tsunoda said he had been “dying” to return to Formula 1. The sudden switch put him in a familiar team but a very different position. Tsunoda said, after the swap, “everything feels like I’m a rookie.” He said the 2026 car felt very different as he adjusted to Formula 1’s new 2026 machinery. The shift was immediate, and it came with the pressure of learning on the fly. Tsunoda said Friday was mainly about learning and that he was satisfied with his Sprint Qualifying performance. His focus stayed on qualifying and the race.
Tsunoda learns
Tsunoda put in 35 laps in Friday practice and finished 17th in FP1, a steady start for a driver trying to rebuild rhythm in limited time. He carried that work into Sprint Qualifying and lined up 12th for the sprint. The margins were tight. Tsunoda was 0.009 seconds behind Lawson in Sprint Qualifying, a small gap that still mattered in the middle of the field. He was also eight-tenths slower than rookie teammate Arvid Lindblad before cutting into that deficit later in the session. Tsunoda closed the gap to 0.433 seconds in SQ1 and 0.360 seconds in SQ2, a sign that he kept finding pace as he settled in. That progress matched the tone he set before the session. He framed Friday as a day for learning and said the aim was to get comfortable with the car, the format and the new machinery. The return to Racing Bulls gave him a seat, but it also gave him a test. He had to get back up to speed fast, read the track, and manage the unfamiliar feel of the 2026 car at the same time. His lap times showed a driver adjusting step by step, not one settling in all at once.
Tsunoda apologizes
The sprint race brought the first clear flash of contact between Tsunoda and Lindblad. Tsunoda apologized to Lindblad after he hit the back of the car at the start of the sprint, saying he misjudged Turn 1 and forgot how little grip there was. That mistake came early and forced him into recovery mode. Lindblad said the contact was small and unintentional, which kept the incident from turning into a bigger issue between teammates. Both drivers kept moving, and the race ran its course. Tsunoda finished 13th in the sprint race. Lindblad finished 10th. The result capped a weekend that started with a surprise call-up, moved through a heavy load of preparation and settled into a learning process under race conditions. Tsunoda got back in the car quickly and handled the sudden return with a short runway, a new challenge and a clear sense of what he still had to learn. The weekend also showed how narrow the margins were at Racing Bulls. One driver was back after an unexpected promotion opened the door. The other was a rookie trying to hold position. Tsunoda’s return gave him laps, data and race time. It also gave him a reminder of how fast Formula 1 can change.
