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Red Bull say they will give Yuki Tsunoda time to settle into his Formula 1 seat.

The Japanese driver replaced Liam Lawson after just two races of the 2025 season after the New Zealander struggled in Australia and China.

Team boss Christian Horner has insisted that Red Bull will give Tsunoda “time and support” to increase his confidence in the car.

He told the F1 site that he was backing the Japanese driver to deliver after displaying “flashes of performance”.

Tsunoda has picked up points in three of the seven races since taking over from Lawson, but has struggled to give teammate Max Verstappen the support he needs, with the team fourth in the constructors’ championship.

Tsunoda failed to reach the final phase of qualifying in the last two rounds in Monaco and Spain.

He is 15th in the Drivers’ Championship with 10 points, while Verstappen is third with 137.

“I think the only thing that we can do is give him time and support and try and get a set-up that he’s got confidence in,” Horner said after the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona last weekend.

“Driving these cars is all about confidence, and that’s what he needs to find. I think he’ll get there.”

Yuki Tsunoda crashed his Red Bull car during qualifying for the Emilio-Romagna Grand Prix in Italy last month. Photo / AFP

Horner had said something similar about Lawson before he was relegated to the junior Racing Bulls team.

Meanwhile, Autosport.com is reporting that Red Bull has asked the sport’s governing body, the FIA, to give driver Arvid Lindblad an exemption to get an F1 Superlicence before he turns 18 so that he can participate in F1 sessions.

The British-Swedish driver, who won the Formula Regional Oceania Championship in New Zealand last summer, is being considered as a reserve driver.

Red Bull already have reserve drivers, but their concern is that Verstappen is facing suspension and they may need to promote a driver from Racing Bulls into his seat, leaving the latter team short on drivers.

A driver needs a Superlicence to be involved in any F1 activities.

-RNZ