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Tsunoda gives stern message to Red Bull, aiming for seat next to Verstappen
Yuki Tsunoda has given a stern message to Red Bull Racing as he continues to put his hand up for the seat alongside Max Verstappen at Red Bull Racing for the 2025 Formula 1 season. The Japanese driver feels Red Bull are running out of excuses for not giving him a promotion. This comes after Daniel Ricciardo was ousted from his seat following the Singapore Grand Prix.
Tsunoda will have a different teammate alongside him at VCARB for the rest of the season as Liam Lawson has replaced Ricciardo for the final six race weekends. Red Bull boss Christian Horner has stressed they want to see how the New Zealander performs compared to Tsunoda as they continue to assess their options for 2025. Sergio Perez is contracted to drive for Red Bull next season, but there is doubt about his future due to his form. Horner stressed the Austrian team need two good drivers to fight against McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari next season.
Horner has also mentioned younger names from the Red Bull Junior team such as Isack Hadjar and Arvid Lindblad, while the British boss didn't rule out looking outside of the Red Bull family and publically named George Russell. Tsunoda has, seemingly, often been overlooked but he feels like he has another chance of securing a promotion.
Does Tsunoda have a chance of moving to Red Bull in 2025?
Tsunoda beat Ricciardo over the 18 Grands Prix weekends, and almost scored twice as many points in the World Championship. He believes he has made the neccessary improvements to impress Helmut Marko and co. "I hope so. I also thought when Daniel was my teammate, it was kind of like that, but so far it seems not. Hopefully they've changed their mind," Tsunoda said ahead of the United States Grand Prix.
"I'm sure there are a couple of key things that they want to see that I can improve in the next six races. I kind of already knew that since last year. I just have to show them and just keep proving myself. I just have to be a driver, there's not many things that are left for them that they can blame me for. Saying like ‘Okay, there are things that you didn't improve or things lacking so you can't be at Red Bull.’ Just trying to be close to the perfect driver. That's what I'm in for," Tsunoda added.
"To be honest, those Red Bull things are always floating around anyway. I have got used to it. I don't think there's any point talking about it. I just have to keep proving myself with results and how I work throughout the race weeks. Just keep focusing on what I have to do, and those opportunities, it's up to them and see how it goes," Tsunoda concluded.
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