Breaking: Red Bull issue Yuki Tsunoda health update after ma… read more

Red Bull issue Yuki Tsunoda health update after ma… read more

Red Bull Racing have shared reassuring news about Yuki Tsunoda after his dramatic accident in qualifying for the Imola Grand Prix. Early in Q1, the Japanese driver lost control heading out of the Tamburello sector and into the high-speed Villeneuve chicane. His RB-Honda snapped sideways, spun across the kerbs, and dug into the gravel, pitching over and coming to rest inverted against the tyre wall. Marshals and medical crews rushed to the scene, and race director Niels Wittich immediately waved the red flag while the stricken car was righted.

Despite the frightening visuals, Tsunoda extricated himself without outside assistance. He was taken by medical car to the circuit’s medical centre for the mandatory post-incident evaluation. According to a statement released a short time later on X (formerly Twitter), Red Bull confirmed that “Yuki has completed precautionary checks and been released with a clean bill of health.” The message brought relief to fans and team personnel who had watched the crash unfold on the world feed with palpable concern.

The incident, however, derailed Tsunoda’s qualifying effort. Because the session was restarted with only a few minutes remaining, and because his chassis required extensive inspection back in the garage, he recorded no representative lap time. Under Formula 1 regulations, the stewards have allowed him to start the race, but he will line up at the rear of the grid. Imola’s narrow, flowing layout is infamous for limiting overtaking opportunities, meaning Tsunoda faces a formidable task if he hopes to climb into the top ten and claim points on Sunday.

So far in the 2025 championship Red Bull have amassed 105 points, yet Tsunoda’s personal contribution is just six. Poor luck, setup struggles, and the pace of rivals have combined to keep him on the fringes of the midfield battle. The Imola crash is the latest setback at a time when the 25-year-old is eager to prove he deserves a long-term seat alongside multiple-world-champion Max Verstappen.

Verstappen’s Saturday went markedly better. The Dutchman hustled his RB21 to second place on the grid, missing pole by a whisker to McLaren’s Oscar Piastri. With a front-row start and Imola’s notoriously processional character, Verstappen is well-placed to challenge for victory and extend his early-season momentum. His qualifying lap, just 0.021 seconds shy of Piastri, underscored how razor-thin the performance margin is between the top teams this year.

For Tsunoda, Sunday will demand a perfect blend of strategy and patience. Imola’s DRS zones are short, and the braking zones into Rivazza and Variante Tamburello seldom offer clean passing chances without the help of tyre-offset strategies or safety-car interventions. Red Bull engineers will likely consider an aggressive tyre split—perhaps an opening stint on the durable hard compound before switching to the faster mediums—in the hope of leapfrogging rivals during pit-stop windows. Rain, a frequent spring visitor to the Emilia-Romagna region, could also shuffle the deck and give Tsunoda a lifeline.

Ultimately, while escaping injury is the day’s biggest positive, the crash compounds what has already been a challenging year for the Japanese racer. Every lap he completes in Sunday’s Grand Prix will be an opportunity to rebuild confidence, gather data for the team, and, with a slice of racing luck, convert an unfortunate Saturday into a spirited comeback drive. The paddock, relieved about his health, will now watch to see whether he can transform adversity into a memorable performance when the lights go out at Imola.