Tsunoda snaps at Red Bull: 'Usual story with the Red Bull family'
F1 News
Yuki Tsunoda seems to have given up hope of a seat at Red Bull Racing. Ahead of the race weekend in Las Vegas, the Japanese driver is venting his frustrations about the state of affairs at Red Bull in conversation with GPblog and others in Las Vegas.
Tsunoda has developed quite well during his four years in F1. The Japanese driver had several crashes in his first season, but he has become more consistent. Since Pierre Gasly's departure, Tsunoda has been the leader of Red Bull Racing's sister team, but he does not expect a promotion to the top team soon.
Sergio Perez is contracted to be in the Red Bull seat alongside Max Verstappen for the 2025 season, but there is doubt about the Mexican's future due to his performances in 2024. If Red Bull decides to make a change, Tsunoda's teammate Liam Lawson and current Williams driver Franco Colapinto seem to be the leading contenders. One name that is rarely mentioned is Tsunoda. The 24-year-old driver cannot understand why.
Frustration for Tsunoda
"Some of the stories are already happening from when Daniel [Ricciardo] was my teammate. Liam [Lawson] came in and suddenly he's up. So, to be honest, it's just the usual story in that team, or in the Red Bull family," Tsunoda is clear ahead of the race weekend in Las Vegas.
According to Tsunoda, he deserves the seat next to Verstappen: "Yeah, 100%. I always say that. Definitely I deserve that seat and I can't say more than that. Definitely [it's] up to them". Tsunoda, therefore, notices that frustrations sometimes run high. "There was a time that I probably started to get impatient, probably just before the summer break. But this thing, like I said, I recognise I can't control. And, it's just part of the life."
"I just have to keep doing what I'm doing. I'm the one who's racing still now and whoever they keep sending [as a teammate], to beat me, whatever, I just keep destroying them so that's what I'm gonna do," Tsunoda is clear about (former) teammates Nyck de Vries, Daniel Ricciardo and now Liam Lawson.
Honda recently expressed how they were impressed with Tsunoda, but little seems to have come from that. "Honda has helped me since I was young and currently Honda and the Red Bull are working together. I'm sure they're pushing but, it's just the Red Bull thing, [for] whatever reason it's not working. I just stopped thinking about that and it's just useless thing pointless to think about," he said.
This article has been created in collaboration with Matt Gretton