Yuki Tsunoda’s ties to Honda may have hurt him in his pursuit of a Red Bull seat. He controversially lost out to RB teammate Liam Lawson in the battle to replace Sergio Perez.
Honda signed Tsunoda in 2016 and, two years later, he secured a place in the Red Bull driver academy. The Japanese manufacturer wield influence at Milton Keynes thanks to their engine supply deal.
However, Honda’s relationship with Red Bull will come to an end in 2026. They’re switching to Aston Martin, while Christian Horner’s squad are setting up their own powertrains division.
Thus, Tsunoda will lose his principal internal backers. Amid the resulting doubts over his long-term future, a promotion never seemed likely.
Still, on performance alone, he’ll feel extremely hard done by. He outqualified Lawson for all six Grand Prix (although he denied the New Zealander one final lap in Mexico after hitting the wall), and beat him in four of the five races they both finished.
Red Bull’s logic is that Lawson was immediately close to his teammate despite the gulf in experience. Therefore, with time, he’s likely to have a higher ceiling – but Tsunoda is a known quantity.
Honda celebrate Liam Lawson’s Red Bull move despite Yuki Tsunoda snub
Red Bull announced their widely-anticipated swoop for Lawson on Thursday morning through posts on their social channels. In one Instagram post, they welcomed the 22-year-old, who could be seen donning their overalls.
Surprisingly, the Honda Racing Global account was one of those to react. One would expect them to be smarting from the treatment of their star driver.
Instead, they showed respect to be partners by writing that it was ‘great news’, accompanied by the starry-eyed emoji. Another of their drivers, Ayumu Iwasa, looks likely to miss out on the RB vacancy to Isack Hadjar.
It’s possible that Tsunoda will follow Honda to Aston Martin in 2026. But if he’s to get a seat at Silverstone, he may have to wait for Fernando Alonso to retire.
Is Yuki Tsunoda only at RB for the money?
F1TV’s Lawrence Barretto claims that Red Bull picked Lawson before Tsunoda’s test. That was a damning reflection of the latter’s standing within the team.
Indeed, his outing in Abu Dhabi last month was, remarkably, his first in a Red Bull car, even after six years with the programme. No matter what he did, it wasn’t going to be enough.
Crucially, Red Bull had ‘significant financial reasons’ for signing Tsunoda in the first place. Perhaps it led to a discount on their engine deal.
But that also explains why he’s never likely to progress beyond RB. They didn’t acquire him solely on merit, and they’ve viewed him through that lens ever since.
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