Shortly before the 2025 season finale in Abu Dhabi, it was confirmed that Yuki Tsunoda would lose his Formula 1 regular cockpit at Red Bull. Actually, the 25-year-old Japanese should remain with the racing team as a test and reserve driver – but this job is also surprisingly shaky.
Background: Red Bull’s former engine supplier Honda, with whom Tsunoda has close ties, and the Austrian-British team have not yet been able to agree on the terms and conditions of further collaboration with the racing driver.
“As far as this year’s contract with Tsunoda is concerned, negotiations are still ongoing, so no concrete agreement has yet been reached,” Honda boss Koji Watanabe revealed on the sidelines of the Tokyo Auto Salon automobile trade fair. “This will be discussed in future discussions.”
Watanabe emphasized: “From Honda’s point of view there is no problem. The crucial point is how Ford, or rather Red Bull, assesses the situation.”
Together with the US company, Red Bull will build its own engines from the coming Formula 1 season. The long-term collaboration between the racing team and Honda has now ended.
Formula 1: Honda is negotiating with Red Bull, not Tsunoda
Depending on the conditions that Red Bull proposes, the extent to which Honda can use Tsunoda will change… I think this scenario is possible. The negotiations are not with Tsunoda itself, but with Red Bull,” said Watanabe.
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Tsunoda once managed to get promoted to Formula 1 through Honda’s youth program. The Japanese car manufacturer also had a hand in the promotion of sister team Racing Bulls alongside Max Verstappen in March 2025.
In 2026, the 18-year-old young driver Arvid Lindblad will now act as Verstappen’s wingman. It is obviously still unclear whether Tsunoda will actually move into the second tier at Red Bull.