Christian Horner suggested 2025 could be the final year for Yuki Tsunoda in the Red Bull fold if a role outside of Racing Bulls does not arise.

A driver for the Red Bull second team since 2021, Tsunoda has never emerged as a serious contender to step up to the main Red Bull squad, though arguably his best hope yet came after Sergio Perez departed Red Bull Racing following the F1 2024 campaign. However, Red Bull opted for Liam Lawson – with just 11 grands prix under his belt – as Perez’s replacement.

Christian Horner questions Yuki Tsunoda’s Red Bull future

That leaves Tsunoda to head into a fifth season with the Red Bull B-team, but according to Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, it is looking like this will be his last. Whether that applies to Tsunoda’s Red Bull association in general, appears reliant on whether a different role in their fold emerges.

“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 said, as per The Race.

“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.”

However, despite the ominous words from Horner directed towards Tsunoda, the Red Bull boss made it clear that Tsunoda’s fate is far from sealed.

Horner hopes that Racing Bulls will “take a step forward” in F1 2025 thanks to use of the Red Bull “rear suspension and the gearbox, and the aspects that they’re allowed to use”, while team principal Laurent Mekies and CEO Peter Bayer now have a season of experience in their respective roles in the bag.

So, with all that considered, plus Lawson’s rapid rise from super-sub to Max Verstappen’s new team-mate, Horner says Tsunoda should not and is not giving up hope.

“I think he’s very determined,” said Horner on Tsunoda. “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.”

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Verstappen has grown into something of a Red Bull team-mate destroyer, with Daniel Ricciardo, Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon and now Sergio Perez all heading for the exit after a bruising experience, yet Tsunoda’s significant F1 experience advantage over Lawson did not land him the Red Bull F1 2025 drive.

And in this case, Horner expressed intrigue in Lawson’s swift and impactful F1 rise, as Red Bull look to explore where that can be taken to.

“Well, Yuki has done four years with our sister team, and he’s a driver that’s growing in experienced and doing a good job,” Horner told talkSPORT.

“I think that what we felt in Liam in what he’s achieved in such a short space of time, the trajectory that he’s on looks really promising.

“That doesn’t rule Yuki out for the future. It’s just that at this juncture in time, we believe that Liam has got the right characteristics, the right strength of character to deal with the pressure that comes with being Max Verstappen’s team-mate.”

With Lawson stepping up to Red Bull, 2024 Formula 2 Championship runner-up and Red Bull junior Isack Hadjar has been called upon as the new-team to Tsunoda at Racing Bulls.

Read next: Why Red Bull promoted Liam Lawson over Yuki Tsunoda