Yuki Tsunoda issues statement after crashing his Red Bull in the F1 Saudi Arabian GP FP2

Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda apologized to the Austrian team after crashing during the FP2 session of the 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Friday. The Japanese driver had a solid weekend in Bahrain and scored his first points for the Milton Keynes outfit after he finished P9 at the Sakhir International Circuit last weekend.

The 24-year-old was looking to build on his confidence from last weekend and finished P10 in the FP1 session, just a couple of hundredths of a second behind his teammate. Max Verstappen. In the all-important FP2 session as well, he was competitive against the Dutch driver and eventually finished P6, over four tenths behind him.

However, Tsunoda had a lapse of concentration in the final few minutes of the session as he clipped the wall on the final turn and put his RB21 in the barriers. The damage meant that he was unable to do long runs on the track and ended competitive running early.

On his Instagram Story, Yuki Tsunoda issued a statement and spoke about the crash, saying:

"Big apologies to the team, I made a small mistake, but it cost us. On the positive side, the pace is looking decent. Let's see what we can do tomorrow."

Yuki Tsunoda's Story on his social media...Credits-Instagram

As per F1.com, the former VCARB driver reflected about the two Practice sessions, saying:

"It is frustrating because the pace was looking good, so it’s a shame, but also a positive, as I was getting the car in a good window. We had limited time on the long run, caused by myself, so I can’t really complain."

"My last soft run was also compromised with the warmup and everything, so we don’t have a great read for qualifying, but so far, the weekend has felt pretty okay," he added.

If Yuki Tsunoda continues his upward trajectory in Jeddah, he could be a candidate to challenge for the higher positions on the grid in qualifying.

Red Bull team boss comments on Yuki Tsunoda's crash in Jeddah

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner was complimentary of Yuki Tsunoda's pace at the two practice sessions on Friday in Jeddah.

As per Autosport.com, the 51-year-old reflected on the Japanese's progress in the team in the last two races and said:

"He's made a mistake, but up until that point he's driven very well so you can see his confidence is coming. His times are starting to come so it's good to see the number 22 car making progress. He had a sensible first session. His short runs were good and it was just a shame he's had that moment, but it shows they're all pushing.”

Red Bull still appears to have a deficit of a couple of tenths to McLaren in the soft tyre running and would look to make some changes to close the gap over a single lap.