Tsunoda alongside Verstappen at Red Bull? This is what Horner says about it
F1 News
- Ludo van Denderen
There could just be a game of musical chairs at Red Bull Racing if the Austrian team decides to part with Sergio Perez - either as early as after the summer or before the 2025 season. In that case, Liam Lawson and Daniel Ricciardo seem to be the candidates to relieve the Mexican. From Christian Horner's words, it seems that Yuki Tsunoda, now in his fourth season for sister team Visa Cash App RB, has no chance of becoming Max Verstappen's teammate.
This season, Tsunoda has collected almost twice as many points as Ricciardo, yet Red Bull apparently does not see him as a serious candidate to advance to the main team anytime soon. Even a test - like Liam Lawson has upcoming - is not in the cards. When Horner was asked in England last weekend why Tsunoda was not even allowed a test in a Red Bull car, the Brit said, "You never know, maybe he'll get a test one day. You never know."
These are words from which Tsunoda is likely to derive little confidence. Horner continued: "Yuki is a Red Bull Racing driver. He's on a Red Bull Racing contract and we re-signed him because he's been performing well. So we're very aware of his performances."
Long-term chances for Tsunoda?
VCARB was originally set up as Red Bull's junior team: after a short number of years in the past, a talent would either move on to the main team, or part ways. Tsunoda won't get the chance to move on (yet). "You can never rule anything out. We have options for multiple years on him because we believe that he's a talent.," Horner concludes.
This article was written in collaboration with Sophia Crothall.