Audi is reported to be weighing up a potential move for Yuki Tsunoda as Carlos Sainz’s entourage continues conversations with Williams over a 2025 Formula 1 seat.
Tsunoda has been a standout name in the opening eight rounds this term, scoring points in five races and outshining his more illustrious team-mate Daniel Ricciardo.
But while the Japanese driver has been candid that a promotion to Red Bull is his ultimate ambition, the Austrian outfit has not been enamoured with that proposition.
Tsunoda has admitted that he would be prepared to vacate his position within the Red Bull stable should progression not be viable and it’s plausible he’d have suitors.
The RB racer has been linked with Haas, who will lose Nico Hulkenberg to Sauber in 2025, but Tsunoda could be set to partner the veteran German at the Swiss outfit.
According to reporter Joe Saward, Audi is assessing the candidates to slot in alongside Hulkenberg as it prepares to arrive in F1 once new regulations are introduced.
Sainz is understood to have a lucrative proposal on the table from the marque, but he’s also engaged in talks with Williams as he ponders his post-Ferrari destination.
Although it has struggled to replicate the exploits that took it to seventh in the championship, Williams is putting the foundations in place to become a stronger force.
Williams boss James Vowles has been pressing owners Dorilton Capital to modernise the team’s outdated facilities as it strives to hit the ground running come 2026.
Meanwhile, Vowles has sounded out design guru Adrian Newey over a return to Williams and could aim to complete a double coup with three-time race winner Sainz.
Esteban Ocon has been touted as Audi’s alternative to Sainz as an exit from Alpine looks inevitable, but the Frenchman is said to have reservations over such a move.
Instead, Ocon has held conversations over a possible switch to Haas, which would see the American side field a driver with race-winning experience for the first time.
With Ocon’s current Alpine team-mate Pierre Gasly angling towards a renewal with the Enstone-based squad, Tsunoda could become the latest target on Audi’s radar.
Both Sainz and Ocon giving Audi the hard shoulder would increase the chances either Valtteri Bottas or Guanyu Zhou are retained, but that’s considered improbable.
According to rumours in the paddock in Monaco, the automotive giant has “taken a shine” to Tsunoda’s standout outings and could capitalise on Red Bull’s hesitance.
Red Bull is reported to have an option on Tsunoda’s services up to September, and RB CEO Peter Bayer has expressed the team’s preference would be to keep him.
However, Tsunoda departing would solve the predicament Red Bull boasts regarding its second-string team upholding three adequate options to fill two slots in 2025.
Tsunoda’s showings have made him undroppable, while team-mate Daniel Ricciardo has been praised over his contribution to RB’s growth despite his on-track issues.
But Tsunoda deciding to egress on his own accord would mean that Red Bull can promote reserve driver Liam Lawson and avoid losing the New Zealander altogether.
Lawson deputised in the AlphaTauri car last term when Ricciardo was sidelined with a broken metacarpal and took its best result at that stage with ninth in Singapore.
Meanwhile, Sainz heading to Williams to complete a strong line-up with incumbent Alex Albon would all but guarantee Andrea Kimi Antonelli a promotion to Mercedes.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is adamant there’s no rush to decide who replaces the Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton next season as he continues to court Max Verstappen.
But with the Dutchman trading a title-contending Red Bull for a Mercedes side without a podium this season a long shot, Antonelli will go in alongside George Russell.
Sainz picking Williams over Sauber/Audi could have repercussions on Bottas’ prospects, though, with the Finn known to be in active discussions with his former team.
The erstwhile Mercedes driver revealed last month that he has “several options” on the table to continue in the sport and could instead seek to replace Ocon at Alpine.
Elsewhere, Oliver Bearman is a safe bet to earn a graduation into F1 alongside Prema Formula 2 team-mate Antonelli with the Haas squad he’s done FP1 outings with.
