Villeneuve: We've seen the best of Tsunoda

Tsunoda finished outside the top ten in Sunday’s Mexico City Grand Prix after a twelve-second pit stop destroyed his chances of scoring points. Despite that, team boss Laurent Mekies described his race as his driver's “best in a long time” a verdict that left Villeneuve baffled.

Speaking on the Sky F1 TV, Villeneuve said: “I don’t understand how a team can say, ‘Tsunoda is not far behind his teammate.’ He brings nothing in terms of speed, points to the team, or any help to Max in the championship.

"Referring to Tsunoda's 110 Grand Prix starts, Villeneuve pointed out: "And he has a lot of experience. We’ve already seen the best of him; he’s on a downward trajectory. It seems like they’re overprotecting him for some reason.”

The 54-year-old Canadian was equally blunt in his assessment of Tsunoda’s form, despite a better-than-usual showing at the recent Mexico City Grand Prix: “No, you can’t say it was a good weekend. Maybe it was his least bad, but it wasn’t a good weekend.”

Tsunoda’s future within the Red Bull group remains uncertain, with the final driver decisions for 2026 expected after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The Racing Bulls driver faces growing pressure from Formula 2 contender Isack Hadjar, whose performances this season have strengthened his case for promotion.

Villeneuve believes Red Bull should move on from the 24-year-old, arguing that experience alone is no longer enough: “We often talk about situations like this. You need experience, that’s true, but you need good experience.

"It doesn’t matter if a driver has twenty years of experience. If he wasn’t good enough, he still won’t be. He won’t help you understand the new regulations or develop and test the car. So why keep someone you already know isn’t good enough?

"In that case, you’re better off with a young rookie or an outsider, someone who brings new energy and fresh thinking to the team. What you have now, you know: it’s not enough," insisted Villeneuve.

To put Tsunoda's performances into perspective, he lies P17 in the 2025 F1 standings and has scored only 25 points for Red Bull compared to Max Verstappen in the sister car, who during the same period amassed 285 points for the team.

But "that's Max", one could say, destroying his teammates. Then, even more telling is the fact that both junior teams, aka Racing Bulls rookies Liam Lawson (P15) and Isack Hadjar (P10), have outscored Tsunoda so far this season, with four GP weekends remaining.