Yuki Tsunoda’s ties to Honda are expected to remain intact despite the manufacturer’s separation from the Red Bull teams.
Honda aims to continue supporting Yuki Tsunoda once they swap their engine supply from the Red Bull teams to Aston Martin.
After 2025, Honda plans to end its partnership with Red Bull and the RB team. However, they express their desire to closely monitor Yuki Tsunoda even after switching their supply agreement to Aston Martin.
Honda hopeful of Yuki Tsunoda RBR promotion
Tsunoda’s contract with the junior Red Bull team is still in effect until the end of this season. Previously, there were rumors connecting the young Japanese driver to a seat at Aston Martin for the upcoming season, especially considering the team’s switch to Honda power. However, it seems that possibility has now been closed off after Aston Martin re-signed Fernando Alonso.
According to reports, Tsunoda was considered lucky to secure the second RB seat for this season. Liam Lawson posed a potential challenge for the position, as he was competing alongside the returning Daniel Ricciardo. It was rumored that Tsunoda required Honda’s assistance to maintain his seat.
Honda CEO Koji Watanabe is optimistic that Tsunoda, who has consistently outperformed Ricciardo in the initial races of the season, will be able to secure a spot with Red Bull in 2025, considering his impressive performance and being a product of the Honda Formula Dream Project.
“I believe it’s a wonderful narrative where Tsunoda initially showcases his skills at RB and then earns a promotion to Red Bull,” expressed Watanabe to Motorsport.com.
We would like to continue monitoring his progress as he moves up to the top teams, even if it’s only after we depart.
Tsunoda’s graduation from the Honda Racing School serves as inspiration for aspiring HRC students to become successful drivers. Therefore, it holds great significance for Yuki to achieve the status of a top Formula 1 driver.
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Should Tsunoda continue in Formula 1 and stay with the Red Bull team, his association with a rival engine manufacturer under Red Bull Powertrains may not pose an issue for Honda to continue sponsoring him.
According to Watanabe, it may not be necessarily difficult.
“We need to assess the situation and then determine our course of action. However, we can provide our full support to help Yuki reach the pinnacle of their driving career.”
Although it seems unlikely for team owner Lawrence Stroll to replace his son Lance with Alonso, Watanabe stated that there is a chance Tsunoda could be considered, even though the Aston Martin door appears closed.
He mentioned that the appearance of Aston Martin’s line-up is still unknown.
“Alonso’s confirmation is official, but I am unaware of any confirmation regarding Stroll.”
“I believe there is a chance for that to happen at this point, as I don’t consider the probability to be zero.”
However, it is currently unlikely for Honda to secure a seat for Tsunoda, as they have no intentions of expanding their engine supply to other customers apart from Aston Martin.
He mentioned that there could be alternative options in the future.
“Watanabe explains that currently we do not have any additional plans. We are still not at the stage of expanding our customer team.”
Tsunoda, who is currently vying for the unconfirmed Red Bull seat alongside Max Verstappen, expressed optimism about his chances of being seriously evaluated for the position.
Tsunoda expressed hope that they would take it into consideration.
Simultaneously, I will make every effort to demonstrate my performance to the other teams.
I simply aspire to enhance my skills as a driver so that I can become a formidable force on the road.
I don’t have any insider information on Red Bull’s current situation, but I sincerely hope that they will seriously consider it too.
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