Christian Horner shares Yuki Tsunoda’s immediate reaction to Red Bull snub after private talks

Yuki Tsunoda has missed out on the second Red Bull seat for the 2025 season to his Visa Cash App RB teammate Liam Lawson.

The two drivers were the frontrunners for the vacant seat at the Milton Keynes-based outfit after Sergio Perez confirmed his exit from Red Bull on Wednesday.

The Mexican has parted ways after four years following a dismal 2024 season where he scored 49 points in the last 18 Grand Prix, while teammate Max Verstappen won nine races and claimed his fourth consecutive drivers’ title.

Perez’s results – or lack thereof – cost the team the Constructors’ Championship as they finished third behind McLaren and Ferrari. Keeping the 34-year-old in the car was unsustainable for a team that aims to fight for the title, and Perez himself understood that as he decided to step away.

Lawson and Tsunoda were the favourites to be promoted from RB for the 2025 season to pattern Max Verstappen, but in the end, it was the former who got the seat.

Christian Horner says Yuki Tsunoda is ‘more motivated than ever’ after being snubbed by Red Bull

Tsunoda has been with RB since 2021 and outperformed both Daniel Ricciardo and Lawson in 2024. Despite having considerably more experience than Lawson – who has only had 11 races in F1 – the Japanese driver has been snubbed of the opportunity to race for the main team.

Ultimately, Christian Horner felt Lawson demonstrated ‘the right mindset’ for Red Bull in a short space of time and opted to give him the chance to prove himself next to Verstappen.

READ MORE: Visa Cash App RB driver Yuki Tsunoda’s life outside F1 from height to parents

Horner does rate Tsunoda highly despite not picking him for the second seat, and he shared that the 24-year-old is looking to prove next season that he made the wrong decision.

“I spoke to him a short while ago and he’s more motivated than ever to, he’s wants to prove us wrong obviously,” he told talkSPORT Driving.

“As I said to him, look this sport moves so quickly, this industry moves so quickly that he just needs to keep doing a great job in the Racing Bulls team.

“I think he’s got a lot of talent, he drove our car at a test just a week or so ago as we wanted to really evaluate him and he impressed the engineering staff.

“It’s just we felt that Liam’s trajectory together with his mental strength and resilience were the right assets to partner Max next year.”

Does Yuki Tsunoda’s future lie away from Red Bull?

Tsunoda will compete in a fifth season with RB in 2025, having signed a contract with the team earlier in the year, and many are not happy to see him stay in the junior team another year.

Several fans berated the decision on Christian Horner’s Instagram after Tsunoda was overlooked by Red Bull in favour of Lawson. Tiff Needell thinks Tsunoda should have gotten the promotion based on his experience in F1 compared to the Kiwi driver.

With Lawson likely to be a long-term project for Red Bull, it is hard to imagine that Tsunoda would be content with staying with RB in the long run and may want to consider moving elsewhere if he is to progress in his career.

Tsunoda has been linked with Aston Martin as Honda – who are his main backers – will supply the team’s engines from 2026. Furthermore, former Red Bull engineer Adrian Newey will join the team in 2025, making Aston Martin an exciting project for Tsunoda to consider.