Yuki Tsunoda has loyalty towards Red Bull but if an interesting offer comes along, he will think about it as Peter Bayer adds his view.
With Red Bull not fancying taking in Tsunoda in the senior F1 seat, the Japanese driver insists on his loyalties remaining with the company. Of course, he wants to drive for the senior team but he is content being at Visa Cash App RB as well.
Since most of the seats have been taken up, Tsunoda doesn’t have any other big team to switch to other than Red Bull. That is why, the next best option of driving for the best of the midfield teams is much more appealing than move around.
There is the Honda option who are switching to Aston Martin from 2026 onward, but for now they do have Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll driving. “I mean, so far very happy with the VCARB,” said Tsunoda. “I mean, now we’re fighting, like, almost… Yeah, sometimes like even P7 or P8, so I mean other options… and like probably now the top teams are pretty much taken so…
“I mean, probably we’re the strongest team in the midfield at least. We’ll see. I think, obviously, especially when I’m in Red Bull, you want to always aim for Red Bull. But, you know, if they don’t want me or, you know, they’re not expecting me into the seat, yeah, if I’ve got an interesting offer that could be better than even VCARB or Red Bull, yeah, I’ll think about it.
“But I also have a big loyalty to Red Bull as without them I wouldn’t be here. And obviously Honda as well. And speaking of Honda, maybe Aston Martin, but you know, Aston also, they’re taken by two drivers. So yeah, I mean, it’s pretty open, but so far I’m happy with VCARB,” summed up Tsunoda.
On Visa Cash App RB side, Bayer is happy to continue with both Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo for 2025. He has praise for the Japanese driver, who has improved in leaps and bounds since he started out with AlphaTauri few years ago.
Tsunoda has been far more consistent since last year and as of now comfortably beating Ricciardo. “Yes,” said Bayer when asked about retaining the Japanese driver. “I think we’re very happy with both of our drivers. And honestly, we’re not wasting time with discussing ifs and whens. We have a very strong line-up. We have a great reserve driver.
“We have great talent coming through F2, F3. And currently, it’s all about focusing on performance. And perhaps the focus is more on Aston Martin in front of us than on driver discussions. I definitely believe Yuki has made a big step forward. It’s physical preparation, but it’s also his mental readiness to perform and deliver.
“One example I mentioned the other day: I think he simply understood that every time he would be swearing on the radio, that would cost him a tenth. So he’s got himself under control. He’s extremely professional in the work that he’s putting into the feedback with the engineers. And yes, he definitely made a big step up.”
While there is the will to retain both Tsunoda and Ricciardo, but they do have Liam Lawson at their disposal who is raring to go without a F1 seat. There is praise for the Kiwi as from both Bayer and Christian Horner, but they are realistic about the situation too.
Red Bull does have more talent waiting in the wings too. “Look, Liam is an extremely valuable member to the team,” said Bayer. “He’s with us every weekend, obviously. He’s doing a lot of work in the simulator. But as I said before, currently we have two drivers in the cars. We are finding performance with the two.
“And we really do not discuss the 2025 situation, perhaps because we’re in a luxury situation of having that strong grassroot pyramid behind us. And so the focus is really on track and on the next couple of races until definitely the summer break.”
And Horner added: “Yeah, look, I mean, they’re all Red Bull Racing drivers, and we’re only at race eight, so still plenty of time. It’s good to see the youngsters performing well, and it’s good to have that competition as well. So Liam is undoubtedly keen to get back into a race situation. The drivers in Formula 2 are performing well at the moment, Formula 3 likewise. So we have a strong vein of talent.”
Here’s Yuki Tsunoda on deserving Monaco GP points
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