Tsunoda makes Red Bull intentions clear with ‘frustration’ over fresh snub

Yuki Tsunoda recalled his frustrations in late 2024 over his situation with Red Bull, having “never” been the “first contender” for a promotion.

That, Tsunoda stated, was despite the fact that he had got the better of Daniel Ricciardo at junior team VCARB – to the point that Ricciardo was axed in-season – only for Liam Lawson to come in and get priority for the Red Bull seat.

Yuki Tsunoda still targeting Red Bull seat

A part of Red Bull’s second F1 team since 2021, Tsunoda has at several points seen a potential opening at Red Bull come and go without him taking it.

That continued in 2024 as, despite outscoring both team-mates for that year – Daniel Ricciardo and Liam Lawson, it was Lawson who got the promotion to Red Bull for F1 2025 after the departure of Sergio Perez.

“I had, like, three calls from Helmut [Marko, Red Bull senior advisor], Christian [Horner, Red Bull team principal], and Laurent [Mekies, VCARB team boss],” Tsunoda said ahead of the Australian GP as he detailed the timeline leading up to Red Bull’s F1 2025 driver announcements.

“First was Helmut, I guess. So, yeah, I heard the final decision from them.

“I mean, there’s no point in complaining and blah, blah, blah. I just said, ‘Yeah, I get it.’ Like, ‘Okay, good luck.’ Pretty much, that’s it. I mean, I’ve just got to keep doing what I’m doing, and my mindset won’t change – I still want that [Red Bull] seat at some point. But the decision they made, it’s up to them, not me.

“I didn’t ask [why], really. I think Christian mentioned that it’s not about performance. From what I heard from other people, they’re saying it’s not performance-related. It’s more like a political [decision]. I don’t know. Maybe Christian didn’t really say specifically what the reason was.

“I didn’t care, really. Whatever they say, I don’t know if that’s true or not, to be honest. And in the end, I’m just going to… I just told them how I feel, how I’m still motivated for next season, and that’s it.

“And afterwards, maybe I heard a couple of things, the reasons, from other people. I can’t expect this to be about performance – there must be another reason behind it. It is what it is.

“To be honest, I kind of prepared myself, even though the situation didn’t play out the way I wanted. I was already prepared beforehand so I wouldn’t, you know, completely lose control.

“I just focus on the future, on trying to be a more complete driver in general – not to give them, or any other team, a reason to say, ‘Oh, you’re not good at this’ or ‘You’re not good at that – so we don’t take you.’”

However, Tsunoda did not deny that the situation got him “frustrated”, as Lawson – with his 11 grands prix of experience to Tsunoda’s four seasons – got the nod to take over as Max Verstappen’s team-mate.

“I still don’t know why, I still don’t fully understand what caused this decision,” Tsunoda continued.

“But I would say I understand more about Formula 1 now. I mean, I understand part of the decision. But I just… don’t follow. I just stopped trying to follow the reason. The more I think about it, the more I start to get confused.

“Like I said, I think I was prepared [for it]. I was not… I wouldn’t say that I was angry. But, to be honest, I was frustrated with the situation during the season – especially around Qatar, Texas, Mexico, that time of year.

“Like, I was never really the first contender. It was always some other driver. You know, I just beat Daniel, and still… whoever comes in next to me, he’s the one who gets considered first – even though he hasn’t raced much [in F1] yet. So in those situations, yeah, I was definitely frustrated. And that’s why, partly, the decision doesn’t make sense at all.

“So yeah, it was quite hard to control myself on the track – not to show frustration, to stay consistent, not to… not to let it affect my emotions too much. That was the hardest part. But once the season finished, I was only thinking about how to show my performance.”

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Tsunoda enters a pivotal year of his career in F1 2025, with Horner having suggested that this will be his final season with Red Bull’s second team, meaning he must secure another role within the fold or leave.

One potential alternative is Aston Martin, with Tsunoda’s sponsor Honda now into the final year of their Red Bull relationship before switching to supplying Aston Martin with their engines under the new regulatory era from F1 2026.

However, Honda recently moved to distance itself from influencing Tsunoda’s F1 career prospects going forward.

Speaking to the Japanese branch of Motorsport.com, Honda Racing Corporation President Koji Watanabe said: “He [Tsunoda] needs to take action himself.

“I want him to make the best choices for himself.

“He’s now in his fifth year, has the ability, and understands the world of F1 well.

“There’s not much more we can do for him. He needs to solidify his support team, including his manager, and secure the necessary seat. He is a professional, after all.

“Drivers can’t rely on Honda forever. Someone of Tsunoda’s career level needs to think for himself.

“Tsunoda has a sponsorship agreement with us. He is fundamentally an independent driver, but we support him as a sponsor.”

Tsunoda has another new team-mate for F1 2025, as Red Bull junior Isack Hadjar steps up to Racing Bulls after his runner-up finish in the 2024 Formula 2 Championship.

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