Yuki Tsunoda has been part of the sister team of Red Bull Racing since 2021. For the first three years, the Japanese racer was part of the Alpha Tauri team. In 2021, he replaced Daniil Kvyat and became the new teammate of Pierre Gasly. At present, Daniel Ricciardo and Liam Lawson are teammates of the Japanese racer. Moreover, the team changed from Alpha Tauri to RB. However, the Austrian outfit did not give the Japanese driver a chance to move to the senior team. It has been his ultimate dream to race for the most dominant team on the grid. But Red Bull seems to be happy with extending the contract of Sergio Perez.
This contract extension of the Mexican driver not only denied Yuki Tsunoda the opportunity to grab a Red Bull seat but also Carlos Sainz Jr. In the present Driver’s Market, the Spanish driver is the most sought-after name available since Lewis Hamilton will be his replacement at Ferrari next year. Moreover, Sainz has been the only non-Red Bull driver to win two or more races since last year. Hence, it might have been a bit unfair for Carlos and Yuki not to be considered for the second Red Bull seat.
Red Bull Is Refusing To Promote Yuki Tsunoda As Well As Trapping Him
If the Austrian team had no intention to promote Yuki Tsunoda, they could have just let him go. There have been quite a few teams who have shown interest in the Japanese racer. For instance, Audi/Sauber, Haas, and even Alpine have been interested in signing the RB team driver. However, in a recent interview with Kleine Zeitung, Helmut Marko suggested that Red Bull has an option to keep Tsunoda for the next season. On the other hand, in the case of Christian Horner not promoting Tsunoda to their senior team, that’s fine, too, because they are under no obligation to do so.
They need to have a pair of drivers for the senior team that they are happy with. Moreover, the-race.com suggests, as per rumors, that the Milton Keynes outfit is planning to make their sister team a strong entity in their own right. Perhaps they believe in Tsunoda to help them achieve that goal. But in the meantime, Yuki is not able to drive a car that might display his full potential. Moreover, interested teams like Haas, Alpine, and Audi might even pay him better than the RB team.
In Reply To Marko’s Comment, The RB Driver Says It Feels More Supportive
Yuki Tsunoda won’t be able to switch to any other team without Red Bull’s permission. But the senior advisor lately said that they have no intention to let Tsunoda go. Also, the driver is all set for 2025, suggests Marko. In Montreal, on Thursday, Yuki stated that he hopes to have a formal discussion with RBR. Moreover, he said that he didn’t sign anything himself. But after hearing what Helmut Marko said, the Japanese racer replied, “It definitely feels more supportive.”
Moreover, Tsunoda believes earning the faith of the Austrian team has aged him a lot, and it generally happens at the end of the season. Additionally, he said that the last three years as an Alpha Tauri driver were pretty tough. But this year has been different and good, feels Tsunoda. He feels now he can commit more and hopes that talks about his contract extension will happen soon in a clearer way.
Stay tuned with Sports News International for more such updates about your favorite F1 team.
