Honda reveals lobbying for Yuki Tsunoda's Red Bull seat in 2025 amid Sergeo Perez exit rumors
Red Bull Racing's engine partner, Honda, is apparently lobbying for Yuki Tsunoda to be named as Max Verstappen's teammate for the 2025 F1 season. With Sergio Perez's future uncertain, the Japanese driver did a test run with RB20 at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina Circuit, and his participation request was reportedly made by Honda Racing Corporation.
Despite signing a two-year extension contract with Perez, Red Bull is mulling over his future. Various rumors suggest that Checo won't be retained for the upcoming season as Verstappen's teammate, leading to a shakeup in the driver lineup.
While Liam Lawson is recognized as a top contender to replace the Mexican driver, his teammate and VCARB's lead driver, Tsunoda, also remains in contention. His candidacy for a Red Bull promotion is apparently being backed by the team's engine partner, Honda.
HRC president Koji Watanabe told as-web.jp that his company lobbied for Yuki Tsunoda's participation in the post-season test run at Abu Dhabi.
"We were able to achieve the test participation that we had asked for. I have heard that he is also very satisfied. I returned to Japan from Abu Dhabi yesterday and on Saturday I had a number of discussions with [Red Bull boss] Christian Horner about drivers for the next season and beyond. As I always say, the teams have the right to decide on drivers, so we are only giving our opinion as a reference," said Watanabe (via as-web.jp).
Watanabe also claimed that he had a positive discussion with Red Bull team principal Christian Horner wherein he shared his feedback on the driver lineup for the 2025 season and the future beyond.
“But from HRC’s point of view, we believe that [Tsunoda] is fully capable of being promoted to Red Bull and should be one of the candidates. What we can do is to provide him with an opportunity to show the world what he is capable of, and I have asked him to take part in this test, and yesterday we were able to achieve this," he added.
Overall, a potential promotion for Tsunoda would likely bring a wave of happiness to the Honda headquarters in Japan. However, in case the rumored move were to not work out, Watanabe wished the Japanese driver the best for his future in F1. Tsunoda, who drove for VCARB in 2024, finished P12 in the drivers' championship with 30 points.
Yuki Tsunoda assesses his test run with Red Bull
Having been associated with VCARB, since 2021, Yuki Tsunoda recently got to practice for Red Bull Racing. He drove the RB20 at the post-season test run at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina circuit. He drove 127 laps and achieved P17 with a best lap time of 1:24:689. After the session, the Japanese driver said he had a proactive day and was happy with the session.
"We have had a very proactive day today so I am really happy with that. There is still a lot of learning that I have to do, but the team have done a great job of preparing such a great run today. It's been such an enjoyable atmosphere in the garage," said Yuki Tsunoda (via the Race).
Tsunoda acknowledged the Red Bull engineers' hard work behind the setup. While the test run was a success, the 24-year-old said a lot of learning is still left on the cards.
Now, the ball remains in Red Bull's court. The team has a wide pool of options to choose from to replace Sergio Perez for the 2025 season. However, Checo is not ready to let go of his seat easily since he signed a two-year extension contract in the middle of the 2024 season.