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Marko impressed with Tsunoda

Marko impressed with 'top driver' Tsunoda

14 June at 17:30
Last update 14 June at 17:30
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  • Tim Kraaij

Yuki Tsunoda remains linked to Red Bull for longer, although the Japanese himself had obviously hoped for a promotion to Red Bull Racing. Tsunoda does impress Helmut Marko, but just not yet enough for a step up.

Red Bull has lifted the option in the contract of Yuki Tsunoda which means the Japanese driver will be tied up with the Red Bull group for another year. A promotion within Red Bull was not in the cards for Tsunoda. This was because he saw Sergio Perez get a new deal at Red Bull Racing, leaving the Japanese driver stuck with Visa Cash App RB.

Tsunoda gets no chance at Red Bull

"He has to continue to perform like he does now. Let's see what the future brings then,'' Helmut Marko said of his young pupil. Tsunoda once entered through Honda and was included in the Red Bull Junior Team. Tsunoda is in his fourth year in F1 and is starting to impress more and more. Especially the fact that he outpaces Daniel Ricciardo is causing attention from other teams.

Indeed, while Tsunoda cannot count on a promotion within Red Bull, he could count on the attention of other teams. Alpine, Haas and Audi are all said to be looking at Tsunoda with interest. However, those teams must now pay a ransom if they want to have Tsunoda in 2025.

''His development is really good, although it came a little bit later than we expected, but he is now a top driver I would say'', Marko stated to Motorsport.com. For Tsunoda, the main issue was to get his emotions under control and he seems to have succeeded now. Whether he will ever get the chance to show his talent at Red Bull Racing, however, is doubtful.