Japan’s Yuki Tsunoda said he was “disappointed” but “okay” about losing his Red Bull seat alongside four-time Formula One champion Max Verstappen next season.
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The Japanese driver will move into a test and reserve role in 2026, making way for Franco-Algerian Isack Hadjar to slot into the hot seat from sister team Racing Bulls.
"The day after I ordered breakfast as usual, same food, yeah, probably I’m not recognising enough that it will be the last race at least for next year," Tsunoda told reporters at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina circuit ahead of the season-ending race.
"Maybe I’ll feel more after Abu Dhabi but that’s how it went and how I feel now."
Tsunoda, who began the year as Hadjar’s Racing Bulls teammate and is backed by power unit suppliers Honda, was promoted two races into the season in a swap with incumbent Liam Lawson after the Kiwi failed to score.
But he has been thoroughly outperformed by Verstappen. The champion has won seven races and chalked up 396 points while Tsunoda's tally stands at a mere 33, just three more than his overall points haul from last year.
Honda, which also supplies power units to Racing Bulls, is leaving the Red Bull fold to team up with Aston Martin next season.
Tsunoda said if he had any regrets they were centreed on not being able to make the most of the Racing Bulls car, which he has helped develop and is seen as far more forgiving than the Red Bull.
"But at the same time I don’t regret much that decision…," added the 25-year-old of his move to the senior Red Bull team.
Tsunoda is not the first teammate to be eclipsed by Verstappen, with the second Red Bull seat acquiring a reputation for being a 'poisoned chalice'.
Hadjar, who has enjoyed an impressive rookie season, will be the Dutchman’s fourth different teammate since the last race of 2024.
But he said he was not worried about meeting the same fate as his predecessors, especially with cars set to change to meet next year’s radical rule changes.
"We're going to get the car we have, I have to adapt to that car, and Max will have to do the same job," said Hadjar, whose seat at Racing Bulls will be taken by rookie Arvid Lindblad.
"I've never repeated every year. I've always competed in different cars… So I think I'm pretty decent at adapting, so I'm actually confident."