"I still want that seat" – Tsunoda on Red Bull's rejection

Doesn’t Helmut Marko sometimes remind you of Morpheus from The Matrix?

He has the power to make or break the careers of young drivers. In his search for the special one, he goes through dozens of them, putting the best on the conveyor belt of the Red Bull junior program. But those who agree to come on board know that the reality can be brutal at times.

Yuki Tsunoda finds himself in a rather tenuous situation. He’s about to start his fifth season with Red Bull’s junior team, having been overlooked in favor of Liam Lawson, and there’s a good chance – almost regardless of his performance – that it could be his last.

Christian Horner, the boss of the team Tsunoda so desperately wants to be promoted to, has already publicly questioned whether it makes sense to keep Tsunoda in the family if he doesn’t get that promotion beyond 2025. And with Red Bull’s partnership with Honda coming to an end, Tsunoda’s adventure with Red Bull may also conclude.

There aren’t many options elsewhere either, which is often the case for Marko’s drivers who never made it to the senior team.

Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

There’s really only one potential trump card for Tsunoda to play – his own performance. It looks as though that performance in 2025 will have to be nothing short of outstanding to earn him another contract extension. But would they really get rid of a driver who is delivering?

And if he does deliver, could the story take a different turn – one that now feels almost like science fiction? Could it still lead to that long-awaited promotion to Red Bull? If Tsunoda is fast and consistent, if he finally proves he can perform under pressure and starts communicating on the radio with AI-like composure – and if things go wrong for Lawson in the coming months… Just imagine: Marko invites Tsunoda to his office in Graz, opens his palm and reveals two pills of different colors.

I still want that [Red Bull] seat at some point. But the decision they made – it’s up to them, not me

– Yuki Tsunoda

“Take the blue and you can stay in Faenza for a couple of years. Take the red one and we will put you at Red Bull – but it may be over very soon.”

“The red one,” Tsunoda laughs as Motorsport.com presents him with this metaphorical question – born from a Marko-Morpheus hybrid – as we sit down for a chat in the Racing Bulls’ hospitality at Bahrain’s pre-season testing.

He instantly gets serious, though, and adds: “100 percent, red.”

Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

Although he’s careful not to sound too displeased about Red Bull’s decision over the winter, Tsunoda admits he was surprised. From his perspective, he’s convinced he did enough to impress his bosses – not just last season, but the year before as well.

Having played a significant role in the premature sacking of Nyck de Vries by setting a benchmark the Dutchman couldn’t match in any of the 12 Grand Prix weekends they spent as team-mates, Tsunoda went on to outperform Daniel Ricciardo too. And while it was the Australian who grabbed the headline results, like P7 in Mexico 2023 and P4 in the Miami sprint last spring, Tsunoda still had the upper hand in both their qualifying head-to-head battle and total points scored.

He also has every reason to feel he performed better than Lawson, though the margins weren’t that convincing. And it’s likely the fact that the New Zealander was able to run so close to Tsunoda so early that tipped the scales in his favor – assuming Tsunoda was even being considered.

Yet, it was one of the paddock’s worst-kept secrets that Red Bull was leaning heavily toward promoting Lawson long before the season had even finished – despite Tsunoda himself receiving no indications from Marko, Horner, or even his own team boss Laurent Mekies. He was informed of the final decision only shortly before the public announcement.

“I had, like, three calls from Helmut, Christian, and Laurent [before the announcement],” he recalls when asked how he found out about Lawson’s promotion. “First was Helmut, I guess. So, yeah, I heard the final decision from them.”

Yuki Tsunoda with Racing Bulls team principal Laurent Mekies

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

He says he didn’t even try to keep them on the phone too long to hear an explanation.

“I mean, there’s no point in complaining and blah, blah, blah,” he shrugs. “I just said, ‘Yeah, I get it.’ Like, ‘Okay, good luck.’ Pretty much, that’s it. I mean, I just gotta 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 gonna… 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 [about] 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.’”

Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

Tsunoda is still one of just 20 Formula 1 drivers – a position many others would envy. Yet, having once again been overlooked by the senior team and being convinced the decision wasn’t based purely on performance, he must feel hard done by. But he insists his motivation hasn’t taken a hit, even if his future prospects remain uncertain.

“To be honest, I’m now – surprisingly, even for myself – mentally in quite a similar place to where I was last year coming into the new season,” he says. “Really focused on our team, what we’re currently working on, how the car works. I guess all I care about is the performance of our team, rather than other teams, [be it] Red Bull or whatever. I’m feeling good – maybe because the first race hasn’t started yet. But I’m just… I’m happy with my current position.

I just beat Daniel [Ricciardo], and still… whoever comes in next to me, he’s the one who gets considered first

– Yuki Tsunoda

“I’m definitely motivated. I think this year, for sure… I’ll have a more [defined] role in terms of leadership. Last year, at the start of the season, it was a bit 50/50, probably slightly leaning towards Daniel [in terms of who was seen as the team leader]. But I was able to kind of change that image within the team throughout the season. Towards the end, I was already starting to be seen as the leader.

“This year, there’s no other experienced driver in the team, so for sure, the team will rely on me more. And it feels like there’s more responsibility. So I definitely want to strengthen that image within the team – I want to help, not just in terms of extracting performance from the car, but in guiding the team’s overall direction. And [establishing] that leadership status, I would say, is the main target I have to work on this year. I want to show that to the whole paddock, not just my team.”

Yuki Tsunoda with his new team-mate Isack Hadjar

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

One way or another, if Tsunoda still holds hope of one day being promoted to Red Bull, it’s important for him to take lessons on board.

“I still don’t know why,” he admits, though. “I still don’t fully understand what caused this decision. 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 [for the seat]. 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.

Yuki Tsunoda crashed during Hungarian GP qualifying

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

“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.”

Yet, that seems to be the very reason Tsunoda was never seriously considered by Red Bull.

“The decision was mainly a question of mental strength,” Marko told Motorsport.com in Bahrain. “Around Mexico, Yuki unfortunately had his two accidents, and at the time, Liam did very well. So we looked at all the facts.”

And Marko has a valid point. Tsunoda did, in fact, have two crashes in Mexico – one in qualifying and another at the race start – and Red Bull’s bosses were free to take that as confirmation that, despite his experience, he still tends to crack under pressure.

Whether he likes it or not – whether he understands it or not – if Tsunoda still wants that Red Bull promotion, there’s little point in dwelling on the past. He needs to look at himself as well.

There are signs that he is, indeed, trying to change things. He has already reshuffled his management team. Make no mistake: there was probably nothing Mario Miyakawa and Luis Alvarez could have done to convince Marko and Horner. After all, even having a heavyweight like Julian Jakobi didn’t help Sergio Perez secure his seat once Red Bull had made its decision. But perhaps Tsunoda feels he needs a fresh start.

Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

“Formula 1, it’s not just about driving – it’s also about how you behave in the paddock and how you deal with teams in general,” he says when asked if he now understands the F1 world better.

“In my first year, I didn’t really think about those kinds of things – other than, you know, [assuming] that track performance would shape my image. But from my second, third season onwards, I started to understand and obviously work on those things – that I had to change myself or improve.

“Especially self-control. You know, I used to lose control quite easily in my first year. But, I mean, last year, I definitely made a huge step – I can confidently say that. And yeah, the image you have definitely affects everything else. So I’m trying to take a different approach as well [this year].”

I know that I can perform well, and I will definitely go above their expectations. And that’s what I’ve already done in the Abu Dhabi test

– Yuki Tsunoda

Part of his motivation now, Tsunoda admits, is also to prove Marko and Horner wrong.

“I mean, I don’t think people in the paddock see me clearly as being a team leader, I would say – not fully 100% yet,” he says. “So I just want to create that baseline for sure. Try to be as ready as possible, and show good results. And then, we’ll see how it goes.”

Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

He’s also confident that his test with the main Red Bull team in Abu Dhabi last year – his first-ever outing with them – left at least a few people within the organization impressed.

“I think I did really well in Abu Dhabi, which I am quite happy about,” he says. “After that test, I was just happy with what I showed. I just felt like I did what I had to do. There aren’t many things left [for them to be convinced]. So it’s up to them. I will keep working [in order] to not give any reason anymore [for them] to not give me the seat.”

After all, trying to convince Marko that he’s the chosen one is probably Tsunoda’s only real option in F1 now.

“I think it kind of relates to the answers I gave you,” he smiles. “I mean, it depends on this year. But I have the confidence that I can perform in general – that’s why I took the red [pill]. Because I know that I can perform well, and I will definitely go above their expectations. And that’s what I’ve already done in the Abu Dhabi test.

“I’m sure I can be more than just a Red Bull driver for multiple years. I can be more than that. So I see [myself] as a successful driver.”

Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool