Is the return of Honda in 2026 of interest to Tsunoda?

The year of truth for Tsunoda

It takes three years for a Formula 1 driver to show his true potential, according to Franz Tost, and so this is the year of truth for Tsunoda. The Japanese driver already made a big step in 2022 by being much closer to Pierre Gasly, but he wasn't consistent. The 22-year-old driver will have to be in 2023 and he knows it himself.

Over the winter, Tsunoda went back to Japan to spend a lot of time with his family but soon flew on to Dubai. There he worked through a training camp. "It was for the first time my Formula 1 career. I had a new coach this year, so it was a good opportunity to build a relationship with him during those two weeks in Dubai," Tsunoda said ahead of the race weekend in Bahrain.

The training camp is paying off, with Tsunoda proving fitter than ever. Tsunoda hardly ever looks back on previous seasons. The holiday is more about relaxing and preparing physically for the start of the season. Yuki feels ready for 2023 but does not feel extra pressure on his shoulders.

Still, Tsunoda knows he will have to take the next step in 2023. You don't remain a driver of AlphaTauri forever. You will have to show that you are good enough for Red Bull Racing or another top team, otherwise, another talent will take your place. The Red Bull junior team is again packed with young talents eager to make the step to F1. Helmut Marko will therefore be watching the performances of Tsunoda and Nyck de Vries closely.

Honda's return

"I want to be more consistent as a result and overall, to be a more complete driver, much more than the last two years. As a team, I'm expecting more performance from the car, more united. And we're facing the same direction, especially based on what we had last year, was not really the result we wanted. So I think everyone's motivated this year to deliver the results."

The man born in Sagamihara does not want to look much beyond the next race, but in the background, there is an interesting story playing out for his future. After all, Honda will return as an engine supplier in F1 in 2026, although they don't have a team to whom they will supply the engines. Tsunoda was a Honda junior in the past and still drives an original Honda engine in the back of his car. Are there any talks between him and Honda about the future?

"No. In the end, the decisions, even if I say something about those kind of things, it won't affect much of Honda's kind of direction they want to take, because it's more towards what they want to do outside of racing," Tsunoda stated about Honda's departure after 2021. "I think they're still in the Formula 1 entry list in 2026, so you never know, maybe they will race in other teams, but until then, I just drive as fast as possible. Currently Honda engine is one of the best, so it's good," Tsunoda concluded to GPblog.

Tsunoda started the 2023 F1 season well. In qualifying, he was over seven-tenths faster than his new teammate and in the race too, he finished well ahead of De Vries. For points it was just not enough. Tsunoda finished in eleventh place, just behind Alexander Albon.