Both Daniel Ricciardo and Liam Lawson have been extremely impressive in the few races they have competed in so far. The Australian has so far managed a 13th and a 16th place finish on his return to F1 this season. On the other hand, the New Zealander also went on to score a couple of points in his last race at Singapore. With both Ricciardo and Lawson having impressed in their few races so far, the pressure is on Yuki Tsunoda to deliver. While there is scrutiny about the Japanese’s future in F1, he seems to have left his fate to the Red Bull team, as per a recent interview he gave to webSportiva.
The 23-year-old’s recent remarks come after reports emerged that AlphaTauri could demote him to a reserve driver in the future. A report from RACER stated that the Red Bull management is considering replacing Tsunoda with Lawson.
🚨 Yuki Tsunoda could be moved to the main Red Bull Racing team as a reserve driver with testing and sim duties
This role would be similar to Alex Albon in 2021 who was able to get a seat again with Red Bull’s backing
In this scenario Ricciardo – Lawson would be the lineup for… pic.twitter.com/RtNiR5CZcV
— RBR Daily (@RBR_Daily) September 13, 2023
As per this report, Tsunoda’s new role will be similar to that of Alex Albon back in 2021. If Tsunoda does indeed get demoted, the report states that he will then have to help AlphaTauri with testing and sim duties. Despite such rumors emerging, Tsunoda does not seem too concerned by them and is confident of keeping his seat.
Yuki Tsunoda reveals his sole focus is on this season
Yuki Tsunoda does not seem concerned about his future despite it remaining uncertain. In a recent interview with webSportiva, the 23-year-old explained how he is confident that Red Bull and Honda will see the progress that he has made from last season.
When asked if he is confident of keeping his seat at AlphaTauri, the Japanese replied (as quoted by RBR News), “I’m hopeful, but in the end, it’s up to Red Bull and Honda. I believe the leaders of Red Bull have a different feeling and impression on me this season, so I feel that there is no reason to lose the seat“.
After stating the same, Tsunoda also added, “I’m not too worried about next year. Now I’m just focusing on improving my performance. I have a strong desire to fight alongside with AlphaTauri for the year rather than the reserve driver“.
As per F1 expert Lawrence Barretto, the fight at AlphaTauri is primarily for the second seat. This is because Barretto notes that Daniel Ricciardo almost has his future already secured at the team for next season.
Will AlphaTauri extend Tsunoda’s contract?
Since the Japanese Grand Prix is this weekend, the spotlight is on home favorite Yuki Tsunoda. While there are some reports that have suggested that the Japanese is at risk of losing his AlphaTauri seat, there have also been others that have stated exactly the opposite.
As per German outlet AMuS, the Italian outfit will announce the extension of Tsunoda’s contract this weekend at Suzuka for the 2024 season. The 23-year-old, who has so far scored three points for the team, will hope to add to the tally in front of his home fans later this weekend.
