Yuki Tsunoda looking at a future away from Red Bull after remaining out of favor despite recent impressive performances - Reports
Recent reports claim that Yuki Tsunoda could be looking to move away from the Red Bull family. This is particularly because Red Bull Racing shows no particular interest in the Japanese driver despite his consistent on-track performances.
The Japanese driver has been one of the best drivers in the backmarker field in F1. In 2023, Tsunoda scored 17 points in the drivers' championship and secured 14th place. While the other side of the AlphaTauri (now RB) garage saw a change in drivers mid-season, he managed to retain his seat in the team and continued to perform.
Coming into 2024, his performance has exponentially improved. In just seven races, he managed to score 15 points and stand in 10th on the drivers' leaderboard.
Yuki Tsunoda has been racing in F1 for four years now. However, he has not yet found a way to get promoted to Red Bull's senior team. While team seniors like Christian Horner and Helmut Marko have showered praises on the Japanese, they have not hinted at Tsunoda's promotion to the Austrian team.
A report from Racer recently claimed that because of a lack of interest from Red Bull, Tsunoda could be looking towards other teams to continue his F1 journey. The report added that he was linked with Haas. The American team already has a seat to fill after Nico Hulkenberg confirmed his departure.
If Tsunoda leaves RB, Red Bull would not have too much trouble finding a competent driver to replace him. One of the top candidates to replace Tsunoda could be Liam Lawson, who impressed the grid with his on-track performances in 2023 when he replaced an injured Daniel Ricciardo for six races.
Red Bull senior applauds Yuki Tsunoda's consistent performances in 2024
Red Bull senior Helmut Marko praised Yuki Tsunoda for displaying a consistent pace in the 2024 F1 season. In his column on SpeedWeek in March, Marko compared Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda's on-track pace.
Initially, he acknowledged Ricciardo's pace increase in 2024. He then praised Tsunoda for driving on another plane. He added how he and former RB team principal, Franz Tost, always believed in the Japanese driver's talent.
"Yuki is currently driving at a very high level - and remains error-free. Franz Tost and I always believed in him; his speed was always beyond doubt for us," Marko explained.
Marko pointed out the issues that Tsunoda had and how he worked on them in 2024.
"His problems were lack of control, outbursts and proneness to errors. All of that is gone this season," he added.
There is yet no official confirmation about whether Yuki Tsunoda will leave the Red Bull family and explore other F1 teams in the future.