Yuki Tsunoda had given great hopes to be able to drive in Red Bull in the upcoming Formula 1 season alongside Max Verstappen. Although the Japanese has significantly more F1 experience, the bulls decided to transport Liam Lawson in 2025 to the side of the Dutch. Operating time in the world champion car waves to the Racing Bulls driver.
“RacingNews365” reports that Yuki Tsunoda will sit in the Red Bull cockpit if the regular drivers Max Verstappen and Liam Lawson are not available or are at short notice. Accordingly, the 24-year-old was appointed official replacement driver for the coming season by the Austrian-English racing team.
It is quite possible that the Japanese, who actually goes to his fifth year as a regular driver at the Racing Bulls, will be promoted for a race early in the season. At the beginning of the year, Verstappen already has eight penalty points in the account, with one being canceled according to the Austria GP in June. Twelve points lead to a lock.
Formula 1: Ayumu Iwasa would move up for tsunoda
Accordingly, the Dutch world champion only lacks four points to suspend. The 27-year-old must survive eleven races so that at least one of his penalty points is removed from his account again.
If Tsunoda has to move up to Red Bull or fail his new racing bulls teammate Isack Hadjar, the sister team relies on Ayumu Iwasa as a reserve driver. The 23-year-old has achieved the required number of 40 super license points by combining results in Formula 2 and Super-Formula points.
The Youngster has also been able to collect initial experience in the motorsport king class: In the 1st free training sessions of Japan and Abu Dhabi of the 2024 season, Iwasa was sitting in the Racing Bull. Even in the tests after the race in the desert state, the Japanese youth hope was already rounding round in the F1 car.