Will Tsunoda Secure His Place with Red Bull Beyond 2025?
Feb.24 - Yuki Tsunoda says he wants to remain "in the Red Bull family" beyond the 2025 season.
Despite his pace, a calmer demeanour and four seasons of experience with the Faenza-based junior team, Red Bull still decided that it should be rookie Liam Lawson who should become Max Verstappen's new teammate for 2025.
In the dying days of 2024, Red Bull Racing team boss Christian Horner strongly hinted that 2025 could be 24-year-old Japanese Tsunoda's last year with the energy drink-owned concern.
"You can't have a driver in the support team for five years," he said. "You can't always be the bridesmaid.
"At that point you either have to let him go or think of something else."
'Let him go' could be a reference to swirling rumours that Tsunoda's backer Honda might want the Japanese driver at Aston Martin next year. However, an Aston Martin spokesman insists that both Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll are firmly under contract for both 2025 and 2026.
That could leave Tsunoda out of Formula 1 after this season.
"We'll see," Tsunoda said ahead of the new season. "Like every season, it depends on my performance. But I would like to stay in the Red Bull family."
Tsunoda even insists that he wasn't overly surprised or disappointed when Red Bull signed Lawson instead of him for this year.
"Last year's things I've already kind of parked and put out of my head, to be honest," he said. "At the moment they officially announced it, I didn't actually feel super angry or disappointed.
"I've just got to stick to what I'm doing, because there are things I can't control. I'll just keep focused on myself and try to prove myself more."
As for Horner's suggestion that five years with the junior team - this year called Racing Bulls - is too much, Tsunoda smiled: "Maybe our team will change its name again next year so it's a different team. Let's see. It depends on my performance.
"Obviously I would like to stay in this Red Bull family, if it's Red Bull Racing that's amazing, if not then I'd still love to be in this part of the team. I feel a lot of support from them, which means a lot to me.
"Whatever happens, there can be interesting options."
Some actually see the seat alongside Verstappen as a poison chalice, as the quadruple world champion is so obviously the number 1. "The goal is to win the constructors' title," New Zealander Lawson said when asked what his job is for 2025.
"That clearly didn't happen last year. For me, I'm doing my job when we're competing for the constructors' title. That's really the goal and that's what's expected of me, regardless of my personal ambitions in Formula 1."
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I just can't see him realistically having a chance to continue in the Red Bull organization beyond the upcoming season, so maybe a reserve driver role at Aston Martin for 2026, followed by a full-time promotion as a direct successor to Alonso who'll likely quit racing in F1 for good after the 2026 season unless they manage to lure Max & or Lawrence were willing to move Lance aside.
Alternatively, he can always return to racing in Japan via the country's premier single-seater series Super Formula where Honda is involved in engine supplier form.
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