Visa Cash App RB driver Yuki Tsunoda may be sitting 10 in the Drivers’ Championship this season, but he’s comfortably been one of the most impressive drivers on the grid in 2024.
Heading into his fourth season with the sister Red Bull team, Yuki Tsunoda is proving why he deserves his place in Formula 1.
Writing in his column for BBC Sport, journalist Andrew Benson has shared more details about his future.
Despite back-to-back disappointing results for Sergio Perez, he appears to be Red Bull’s chosen teammate for Max Verstappen heading into next year.
If Tsunoda’s performances this season aren’t enough to convince Christian Horner and Helmut Marko that he can make the step up, then he may need to consider his future.
It’s now being suggested that Tsunoda has a ‘decent chance’ of joining three different teams on the grid in 2025.
With the driver’s market in such a precarious position at this stage, having so many manufacturers considering you as an option puts you in a very strong position.
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Three F1 teams considering a move for Yuki Tsunoda in 2025
When the chequered flag waved at the end of the Monaco Grand Prix, one side of the Visa Cash App RB garage could once again celebrate a job well done.
The most important part of the race weekend in Monte Carlo is qualifying and this is one aspect of Tsunoda’s performance that has drastically improved this year.
Tsunoda has beaten Daniel Ricciardo on seven out of eight occasions in Grand Prix qualifying this year – although the Australian has come out on top for both Sprint qualifying sessions.
While Ricciardo was eliminated in Q2, Tsunoda made it to the top-ten shootout and put his car on the fourth row of the grid ahead of Alex Albon and Pierre Gasly.
For the first time in Formula 1 history, the top ten finished the race in the same order that they started, earning Tsunoda four more points.
He appears to be in a personal battle with Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll and extended his lead over the Canadian in the Drivers’ Championship to eight points.
Considering Tsunoda has said he could drive for Aston Martin one day given his Honda links, that tussle is particularly pertinent.
However, Tsunoda won’t want to close off his options on the grid and three teams have the 24-year-old on their shortlist for next year.
It’s unclear how close he is to putting pen to paper, especially as RB are unlikely to want their best-performing driver to move on, but if he doesn’t see any progression at Red Bull then he may need to take the next step in his career.
Yuki Tsunoda is an unlikely star in Formula 1’s driver market
Discussing the Japanese driver’s future, Benson said: “The impression from the outside is that there is absolutely nothing [Yuki] Tsunoda can do to be considered for a seat at Red Bull – the bosses simply do not rate him highly enough.
“This is why Tsunoda is looking outside Red Bull for job opportunities, even though he owes his seat in F1 to Honda, their engine partner.
“Ironically, he cannot get a seat at Aston Martin, which will be Honda’s works team from 2026, because Fernando Alonso has just signed a new contract there and Lance Stroll is the son of the owner and is not going anywhere.
“So, Tsunoda is looking at places such as Williams, Haas and Alpine, and it seems he has a decent chance of landing one of those seats in this summer’s driver musical chairs.
“As for his performance at RB, yes, he is beating Daniel Ricciardo regularly and has put in some impressive drives this year. But this is raising more questions about Ricciardo than it is changing minds at Red Bull about Tsunoda.”
Yuki Tsunoda has a big decision to make on his F1 future ahead of the 2025 season
As well as the three teams Benson has mentioned, it has to be assumed that RB won’t be discounting retaining Tsunoda for 2025.
This puts him in a very strong position and many factors have to be considered when thinking about his next step.
Staying at RB would be a solid choice as the team’s relationship with Red Bull means the car will always be in a decent position.
Liam Lawson appears to have a clause in his contract that means he’ll be on the grid next year and Tsunoda would potentially be given the chance to be the number one driver in the team if Ricciardo departed.
Williams are looking at bringing in Carlos Sainz as Logan Sargeant’s replacement next year but if he heads to Audi, Tsunoda would be a very competent alternative and the team under James Vowles appears to be in a strong position to move forward beyond 2024, especially with a Mercedes power unit when the regulations change in 2026.
Haas have outperformed expectations in a similar way to Tsunoda but it’s hard to see the American outfit being at the top of the 24-year-old’s list of potential destinations.
Meanwhile, Alpine seem to be preparing to make changes to their driver line-up, especially after Esteban Ocon’s misdemeanours in Monaco on the track after hitting teammate Pierre Gasly.
However, the French works team aren’t in the strongest position compared to some of their rivals and may be a hard sell for the Honda-backed driver.
The post ‘Has a decent chance’: Three F1 teams are now considering making a move for Yuki Tsunoda in 2025 – journalist appeared first on F1 Oversteer.