There are only a handful of drivers on the Formula 1 grid who have arguably had a better start to the 2024 Formula 1 season than Yuki Tsunoda.
The Japanese driver was under pressure at the newly-named Visa Cash App RB team at the start of the season but has flourished in the VCARB 01 this year.
Speaking on the Nailing The Apex Podcast, journalist and F1 insider Tim Hauraney has predicted where he thinks the 24-year-old will be driving next season.
The Formula 1 driver’s market appears to be very unpredictable at this moment with half the seats on the grid yet to be filled.
While most of the top running teams have locked in their line-ups or have clear favourites to fill their remaining seats, the bottom half of the paddock could change an awful lot.
That may not suit Yuki Tsunoda though and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him remain at RB for a further season in 2025.
While spending five years with Red Bull’s sister team is far from ideal, there’s one change coming alongside the new regulations in 2026 that may suit him.
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Tim Hauraney thinks Yuki Tsunoda will spend one more year with RB in 2025
With only 10 teams on the grid and therefore 20 seats, there aren’t a huge number of options available to drivers.
With Red Bull controlling four of those seats, remaining within the camp does theoretically give Tsunoda a better chance of prolonging his Formula 1 career.
However, he’s in a difficult position in another way, with Red Bull seemingly having no interest in handing him a promotion.
Despite being the better of the two RB drivers, it wouldn’t even be a huge surprise if they overlooked Tsunoda for Ricciardo in 2025 given Christian Horner’s support for the Australian.
Right now, Sergio Perez still appears to be the most likely driver to race alongside Max Verstappen next year, with Carlos Sainz’s availability throwing a cat amongst the pigeons as he delays signing on the dotted line for Audi.
The only other option for Tsunoda could be Aston Martin given his connections with Honda.
Unfortunately, that poses a very different issue for the 24-year-old.
Yuki Tsunoda stuck in Formula 1 purgatory despite a brilliant 2024 season
Talking about the Japanese driver’s future, Hauraney said: “He was fantastic, I see him back at RB, I do. I see him back there next season.
“As for 2026, who knows? He may be in Formula 1 still, he might not.
“It doesn’t mean that he can’t go to another team. Let’s say, right now he’s getting the Honda backing, Honda being a part of the Red Bull program is important.
“But Honda moves on to Aston Martin but Yuki’s [Tsunoda] putting up good performances, talent will find a way, it always does.”
Is Aston Martin the best solution for Yuki Tsunoda’s long-term F1 future?
While it does look likely that Tsunoda will be at RB in 2025, Aston Martin are the other team he’s consistently been linked with.
He has already said this month that there’s a chance he will join the Silverstone-based outfit one day when Honda becomes their power unit supplier.
One journalist has heard a suggestion in the paddock that Tsunoda could head to Aston Martin next year as their reserve driver with the view of earning a race seat in 2026.
However, giving up a race seat wouldn’t make an awful lot of sense unless Red Bull decide he’s the driver that needs to make way for Lawson.
Considering he’s currently ahead of Lance Stroll in the Drivers’ Championship, he would be an immediate upgrade for Aston Martin.
Unfortunately, that’s not the way things work in Formula 1 and instead, he will have to continue biding his time at Red Bull’s sister team.
The post ‘I see him’: Journalist predicts which Formula 1 team Yuki Tsunoda will be driving for in 2025 appeared first on F1 Oversteer.