RB driver Yuki Tsunoda has revealed that he hasn’t held conversations with Red Bull concerning the potential to replace Sergio Perez for the 2025 Formula 1 season.
Perez’s stuttering form last term has led to constant speculation regarding the Mexican’s chances of extending his spell with Red Bull, which expires at the end of 2024.
The RB duo of Daniel Ricciardo and Tsunoda would no doubt love to be the candidates to replace Perez and on form, the Japanese driver would be best placed to do so.
After a blip in China, Tsunoda was back to extracting great performances from the VCARB 01 in Miami, finishing eighth in the Sprint and seventh in the main Grand Prix.
But despite being the highest-placed driver outside the top five teams in the Drivers’ standings, Tsunoda hasn’t had a dialogue with Red Bull over a promotion for 2025.
“I never heard yet anything from Red Bull, to be honest,” Tsunoda told media on Thursday at Imola. “So I’m not sure what’s going on there.
“But if I get Red Bull that would be great, but RB is in very good shape, to be honest. So if I can stay in RB that would be great.
“We will see also, I have to think about the future and you never know what is going to happen and if you get an interesting offer you have to consider it.
“I [have been] part of [the] Red Bull family since I was very young and I would like to stay as long as possible.
“I feel support from them as well, so I want to bring back results for them and I think so far I am doing that well, so I will keep doing that. Let’s see how it goes.”
In addition to long-term ties with Red Bull, Tsunoda has had continual and strong support from Japanese power unit provider Honda.
Honda has maintained a background presence in F1 since stepping away from the sport in an official capacity at the end of the 2021 season and is coming back as a full-engine partner with Aston Martin in 2026.
The Japanese marque has already indicated it is prepared to support Tsunoda beyond 2025 when the Red Bull-run Honda power unit ceases to be in operation.
As a result, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Tsunoda in British Racing Green in the near future and the Japanese driver has already received interest from parties outside the Red Bull setup.
“I don’t know how it’s going to be but I definitely feel there is more interest from other teams,” Tsunoda said.
“It’s matching my target to show my value as a driver to other teams, that I can do well and that I’m not a driver who is just driving, basically.”
