Red Bull star refuses to rule out quitting for rival F1 team
Yuki Tsunoda wants to graduate to the main Red Bull team – but admits he would consider leaving if the circumstances were right.
The Japanese racer arrived in Formula 1 as a product of the Red Bull junior driver programme. He was also supported by Honda, which for several years now has had a close relationship with the team.
But that will soon come to an end, with Red Bull partnering with the Ford Motor Company. Honda will remain in F1, but will team up with Aston Martin from the 2026 season.
It remains to be seen where Tsunoda will be at that point. His current contract expires at the end of this year, though the feeling is he has done enough to earn at least one more season with AlphaTauri.
He wants to prove his worth enough to earn a promotion to Red Bull Racing. No driver has done that since Alex Albon was called up mid-way through the 2019 season, as his eventual replacement Sergio Perez has partnered Max Verstappen for the past three years.
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Knowing there may not be room for him in the coming years – especially with Red Bull eyeing Lando Norris in the event of Perez's departure – Tsunoda is willing to walk away from the stable altogether if that is what is best for his career.
"It would be nice if I could be able to stay at Red Bull," he told RacingNews365. "But, to be honest, these things I don't know. They will decide it and I just have focus on what I have to do and make the results – naturally those two things will come.
"I don't try to think about those things – maybe I can step up to Red Bull. Those are things that you never know. So it's useless to think about those things, I'm just focused on what I'm doing and keep delivering my results.
"I want to focus more on showing my value as a driver, not just for Red Bull but also for the other teams, which is the most important thing. That is my target. I think [in] the last two years, I didn't improve enough as a driver, my value, how good I am."
AlphaTauri's car has been the least competitive on the grid this season and points have been hard to come by. Nyck de Vries, Daniel Ricciardo and Liam Lawson have all race for the team in 2023, yet Tsunoda remains the only one to have scored points with three 10th-place finishes.
His consistent performances early in the season earned many admirers up and down the paddock, who felt he was starting to show his true value in F1 for the first time. That will be important for Tsunoda, to impress other teams, in case his Red Bull dream does not work out.
In any case, he may find a home at Aston Martin in the future. Honda Racing president Koji Watanabe said earlier this year 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... We're hoping that he will become a candidate, but it's up to the team to make the final decision."
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