Jacques Villeneuve’s stinging verdict on Yuki Tsunoda: “He’s reached his peak”

1997 Formula 1 champion Jacques Villeneuve did not hold back in his assessment of Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda. 

The Japanese driver is in his fifth F1 season. After more than a four-year stint with AlphaTauri (now Racing Bulls), Tsunoda replaced rookie Liam Lawson at Red Bull after two race weekends of the 2025 season.

Red Bull has struggled in recent years to find a second driver who has been able to extract the same performance from the car as four-time champion Max Verstappen. And while Red Bull motorsport adviser Helmut Marko confirmed this weekend that the 25-year-old has until “around Mexico” to prove his worth for a 2026 seat, Villeneuve claimed Tsunoda has already reached his peak.

“I think they already know what he’s worth. They’ve had him for how many years now, five years with the Red Bull junior and the main team. They know he’s not good enough,” the former driver explained to Sky Sports F1.

“They know he’s reached his peak. He’s reached his peak! He’s been peaking and he’s only ever gotten there because of Honda.”

When presenter Simon Lazenby pointed out that many people in the paddock consider him to be equally talented as many of the other drivers up and down the paddock, the Canadian was quick to shut the claim down.

Jacques Villeneuve

Photo by: Peter Fox / Getty Images

“Is that good enough? When you’re a team like Red Bull, when you’re a team like McLaren. Come on, you want two drivers that fight. There isn’t [at Red Bull] – that’s the problem, they know he’s not good enough.

“So what do you do? Keep a driver that, you know, OK, maybe will drive around, get maybe get some points, but will not help you develop the car, will not push the team, or you take a gamble and try with someone else?”

Tsunoda currently sits 18th in the drivers’ standings with 10 points. In comparison, his team-mate Verstappen is currently third, having scored 187 of Red Bull’s 194 points.