The start of the 2025 Formula 1 season is still two months away and yet already movements are taking place in the driver’s market.
Alpine go into 2025 with a new driver pairing as Jack Doohan joins Pierre Gasly, but already Franco Colapinto is being brought in as an Alpine reserve driver to amp the pressure up on the young Australian.
The majority of drivers who signed contracts last year are locked in until the end of next season.
Teams are keen for their line-ups to remain constant ahead of F1’s regulation changes in 2026 when the status quo in the paddock is likely to be disrupted.
However, that requires every driver to be on top form and to prove that they’re better than any of the other options available elsewhere.
That’s where Racing Bulls driver Yuki Tsunoda fits into the equation.
After failing to earn a promotion to Red Bull for 2025, Tsunoda looks set to be let go at the end of the season.
It will potentially bring to an end five years of racing for Red Bull’s sister team for Tsunoda, but he’s done more than enough over the past 12 months – and throughout his career where he’s scored 91 points – to raise a few eyebrows in the paddock and put himself in the frame for a race seat elsewhere.
F1 teams now ‘put on notice’ that Yuki Tsunoda is available for the 2026 season
Talking about the situation Tsunoda finds himself in on The Race’s YouTube channel, journalist Scott Mitchell-Malm said: “Other teams including Haas and Audi were known to have an interest in him [Tsunoda] in Spring last year.
“But now a problem for Tsunoda is that many teams have their lineups set through the first year of the new car and engine rules in 2026.
“A new team – Cadillac – is joining the grid, and Honda’s switch to Aston Martin could potentially open a door there longer term so there are some opportunities, but nothing as concrete or appealing as Tsunoda deserves on recent form.
READ MORE: Visa Cash App RB driver Yuki Tsunoda’s life outside F1 from height to parents
“Ultimately, Red Bull had a contractual option and it isn’t obliged to put him in the senior team, so it can do what it wants.
“But, it’s harsh on Tsunoda, whose only silver lining is it has now been made clear to him that he should seriously look at alternatives and other teams have been put on notice early that he will most likely be available at the end of this season.”
Which teams could be interested in Tsunoda in 2026 and who could replace him at Racing Bulls?
Although Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said Tsunoda was calm when told he wasn’t being promoted, it’s hard to imagine he wasn’t upset that he had been overlooked for Liam Lawson.
He now has 24 Grand Prix to prove to the rest of the paddock that he deserves a seat on the grid in 2026.
Red Bull have high hopes for Arvid Lindblad and he currently looks like the logical choice to replace Tsunoda if he’s released next year.
READ MORE: All to know about Visa Cash App RB from team principal to Red Bull affiliation
As for where the Japanese driver could end up in 2026, there are two standout options.
Cadillac have yet to sign a driver ahead of their Formula 1 debut next year and Tsunoda would be a very solid pair of hands to guide a less experienced driver through their first season in the sport.
Tsunoda has close ties with Honda and they’ll become Aston Martin’s exclusive power unit supplier next year.
Although Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll are unlikely to give up their seats easily to Tsunoda, it’s hard to argue he wouldn’t be an upgrade on the Canadian.
There are also a host of rookies on the grid this year and if any of them underperform, knowing Tsunoda is available might ease their concerns heading into the next era of F1.
