Red Bull axe Tsunoda

Last Updated on December 20 2024, 11:25 am

Red Bull are cleaning house in their Formula One driver lineups and the once joint favourite to replace Sergio Perez may now be out of F1. Yuki Tsunoda was signed by Honda to their racing programme back in in 2016 and two years later he was awarded a place within the Red Bull driver academy.

The optics were [plain for all to see. Red Bull were being supplied their power units by Honda and hey presto, they have a Japanese driver in their junior F1 team. Yuki has never been considered by the team’s management as the VCARB team leader, in fact when Nyck de Vries was announced for 2023, Dr. Helmut Marko stated despite being an F1 rookie, he would assume the role of the leading driver.

De Vries was gone ten race weekends later. In came Daniel Ricciardo who faired reasonably well against his Japanese team mate but come Singapore this year, Tsunoda waved goodbye to another team mate.

 

 

 

Lawson/Tsunoda decision “very tight”

With just six race weekends to build on his reputation as a substitute for Ricciardo last season, Liam Lawson arrived and was immediately the person of interest at VCARB. Yet Yuki went about his business beating him 6-0 in Grand Prix qualifying and in the five races they finished together, in four Tsunoda was ahead.

Yuki is now clearly the trophy wife at Red Bull as evidenced by him never having tested in the Reed Bull car prior to this year’s post season test in Abu Dhabi. The Japanese driver performed well at the test but reports from sections of the F1 media are suggesting the decision to promote Lawson had by then already been made.

Red Bull’s reasoning for not giving Yuki a shot alongside Max Verstappen appears confused with Christian Horner leading us to believe the margins between the two drivers in qualifying was “very tight” and surprisingly that Lawson was stronger on race pace.

Having announced the promotion of Lawson, Christian Horner took questions from assembled media where he appeared to suggest Tsunoda may not see out his contract with VCARB in 2025.

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“Can’t have a driver… for five years”

“We’re acutely aware that if we’re not able to provide an opportunity for Yuki – being, in all honesty, this year [2025] – does it make sense [to keep him]?” Horner asked rhetorically. 

“You can’t have a driver in the support team for five years. You can’t always be the bridesmaid. You’ve either got to let them go at that point or look at something different.”

2025 will be Tsunoda’s fifth year with the team, something Horner now believes to be untenable. Yet having said that the Red Bull boss appeared to dangle some kind of carrot for the Japanese driver by revealing, “I spoke with Yuki, he said he was enjoying having some wagyu beef while he was on his time out, but his motivation was to demonstrate that he warrants that opportunity.

“The Racing Bulls team will hopefully make a step forward again next year as they utilise the [Red Bull] rear suspension and the gearbox, and the aspects that they’re allowed to use.

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Yuki’s options narrowed with delay

“I think he’s very determined. He knows that things change very quickly. Who would’ve thought nine months ago we’d be sitting here talking about Liam Lawson being our driver for 2025?

“Things change quickly in this industry and he’s aware of that and knows that he needs to be the one demonstrating that he’s the one knocking on the door.”

The problem for Tsunoda is Red Bull offered him a new contract for 2025 relatively early in this season, before a number of the teams were ready to consider their options going forward. Yuki may have been an possibility for the Sauber-Audi project which has been forced to raise funds before its launched having sold a third share in the business to the Qatari’s. Tsunoda comes with substantial financial backing.

Now a number of teams are committed into 2026 an beyond but the arrival of Cadillac next year may offer Tsunoda an option as could Aston Martin, should Lance Stroll ever realise he is not worthy of the seat he occupies in the F1 team his father owns.

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Marko: “both deserved promotion”

Speaking to F1-insider, Dr. Helmut Marko revealed Tsunoda had taken the news he had been overlooked in his stride. “He’s in Japan right now and I spoke to him on the phone. He took the news relatively calmly.

“I told him to keep pushing hard with the Racing Bulls and then we’ll see what happens. It was a positive reaction,” the 81-year-old added.

In terms of the decision making Marko pulled aside the veil of secrecy aside which surrounded the post Abu Dhabi sit down with the shareholders to decide the driver lineups. Something he previously described as a “first” for the organisation which was to now make a collective agreement. 

“The engineers presented comparative figures, which we used as the basis for the decision,” said Marko. “In principle, it was a luxury problem – both would have deserved the promotion.

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Death knell for Tsunoda

“But Lawson may have more room for improvement in the future. His mental strength in particular was the deciding factor in the end.”

This is the death knell for Yuki and his Red Bull F1 career as the only reason to retain his services would have been to give Lawson a year outside the spotlight to hone his craft before taking on Max Verstappen.

Yet the drama surrounding the Red Bull choice of driver to partner Max and who to give experience in VCARB is all a scramble to clean house in the driver academy to make way for the next messiah – or very naughty boy.

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Red Bull await their ‘messiah’

Arvid Lindblad is being groomed as the next Max Verstappen. Yet between him and an F1 drive stood Liam Lawson, Yuki Tsunoda, Ayumu Iwassa (another Honda driver) along with Isack Hadjar.

Iwassa was once seen as the next of the academy drivers to step up to F1, although his star has been on the wane whilst that of Isack Hadjar is on the rise as he is now announced as Lawson’s replacement at VCARB. Wherever the chess pieces fall and whether Tsunoda sees out 2025 or not is mostly irrelevant.

Lawson is not a long term punt for Red Bull in fact he may even get just one year’s shot at the top seat depending on how Lindblad does in his maiden season of international single seater competition in F2 for 2025.

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Horner’s weakness led to committee decision over Lawson

While welcoming a new driver to the Formula One fraternity is always intriguing, Red Bull’s decision to replace Sergio Perez with Liam Lawson is highly questionable. The once ruthless organisation in terms of driver selection and sacking has dithered since the summer break, appearing to cling to a forlorn hope that their Mexican driver was about to turn the corner any time soon.

Of course this was not the case and in latter months the matter clearly went legal as Christian Horner shifted his narrative from “the team is doing everything it can to support Checo,” to on the topic of retirement “that has to be Checo’s decision,” as he told assembled media in Qatar.

Regardless, the paddock conversation for several weeks has been obsessed with a single topic, that is who would be the replacement driver when the inevitable arrives and Perez is relieved of his duties alongside Max Verstappen… READ MORE