24 May 2023 , 14:54
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Honda have publicly identified Yuki Tsunoda as a potential replacement for Fernando Alonso when their collaboration with Aston Martin begins.
The Japanese carmaker plans to stick around in F1 beyond the end of their current partnership with Red Bull. That association will end once and for all in 2025, with the defending champions preparing for a new collaboration with the Ford Motor Company.
Honda had already left F1 once before quietly slipping back in and has now made up its mind to stay permanently. It signed up for the new engine regulations, set to come into force in 2026, and sounded out potential clients for the power units it will create.
It was announced on Wednesday that Aston Martin will use those engines from 2026 onwards. It will mean the end of the Silverstone team's long-term collaboration with Mercedes.
While it is far too early for any concrete talk about drivers from 2026, engine manufacturers tend to always want a say in who gets behind the wheel of the cars they power. And Koji Watanabe, president of Honda's racing division, has admitted he already has his eye on Tsunoda.
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The 23-year-old was supported on the path to F1 by both Honda's academy and the Red Bull junior programme. He is in his third season with AlphaTauri and has earned many admirers for his performances so far this year, even leading to suggestions a Red Bull seat might be in his future.
Tsunoda finally seems to have found his groove in F1 (Getty Images)Honda are hoping Tsunoda will be a "candidate" to drive for Aston Martin in 2026. Alonso and Lance Stroll currently drive for the team and the latter's place seems secure considering his father owns the team, though his more experienced partner will be 44 years old by the end of 2025 and may have retired by then.
With one eye on who might replace Alonso, Watanabe said of Tsunoda: "He is originally from our school and in Formula 1 he is doing very well. We're very happy to see him succeeding.
"But talking about the future, we still have three years to go so it's too early for us to say what will happen. I don't think it's the time to talk about this. But we're hoping that he will become a candidate. But it's up to the team to make the final decision."