Ever since Daniel Ricciardo became part of Red Bull’s sister team, all focus shifted to the Australian. However, since then Yuki Tsunoda upped his game and started performing on a higher level. The Japanese driver started proving how he was worthy of a promotion to the senior team for 2025.
Despite his best efforts, he was snubbed as Sergio Perez got the extension and Tsunoda was retained at V-CARB. However, the team principal, Laurent Mekies’ assessment of the 24-year-old suggests he might not stick around beyond 2025.
Speaking to F1 journalist Lawrence Barretto, the V-CARB boss expressed his shock at the Japanese driver’s late bloom in the sport. After four years, Tsunoda suddenly went up a gear and his recent results are proof.
Mekies believes Tsunoda’s recent uptick in performance puts him on a serious trajectory, one that one of the best drivers take. Now, by the end of the 2025 season, he’ll be 25, and per the boss’s admission, he will be aiming for a top team.
“I have been fortunate in my life to witness that in so many champions,” said Mekies. “They progress and they get faster, and faster again. What Yuki has done now in his fourth year – you expect these steps to come early in the career, but on his fourth year, to make such a huge leap is credit to him. It’s putting him on a very serious map of the top guys out there.”
If Red Bull doesn’t promote their junior driver who has been waiting for years for his shot, he might soon leave. There have been many suggestions of Tsunoda leaving Red Bull. Now, he has even raised his stock to get a seat elsewhere based on merit. The Red Bull snub might be making him think about different teams already.
Will Yuki Tsunoda leave the Red Bull family or stay put?
There are a lot of factors in play at the moment within the Red Bull family regarding their future lineup. Sergio Perez extended his contract for two years. However, it was soon revealed it was a 1+1 contract and not a 2-year straightforward deal. The performance-based contract puts the Mexican future in doubt with his qualifying output taking a hit once again.
On the contrary, Tsunoda extended his contract by one year at V-CARB. If the opportunity presents itself he might be able to stake his claim on the Red Bull seat in 2026. However, if he is snubbed in 2026 as well, then the #22 driver might be eager to take his talents elsewhere.
This is where his Honda connection might come into play. The Japanese manufacturers have broken their long and successful relationship with the Austrian outfit. There’s a slim chance of Tsunoda joining Aston Martin in the future, based on this connection. However, for now, people within Red Bull’s extended family are staying put, except one.
