F1 News: Christian Horner Doesn't Rule Out Yuki Tsunoda's Move To Red Bull - 'He's A Talent'

Saajan Jogia | Jul 9, 2024

May 5, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; RB racing driver Yuki Tsunoda (22) walks into the F1 Village before the F1 Miami Grand Prix at Miami International Autodrome. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports / Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has revealed that there could be chances of VCARB (RB) driver Yuki Tsunoda securing a Red Bull seat in the future. Speaking highly about the Japanese driver, the team boss emphasized that he wasn't a rookie driver anymore.

With Sergio Perez's performance going downhill lately, the rumor mill suggests that he could be ousted after the summer break if he continues to underperform. VCARB (RB) driver Daniel Ricciardo has often been linked to Perez's seat. However, given that Yuki Tsunoda has outperformed the Australian driver on most race weekends this season, he might have a better chance of securing the seat alongside Max Verstappen.

With Red Bull junior driver Liam Lawson also in contention for the seat in question, Red Bull has several options on the table to choose from. The New Zealander undergoes a test on Thursday in Red Bull's RB20 at Silverstone. When asked by RacingNews365 why Tsunoda had not been offered a similar chance, he said:

"He's a Red Bull Racing driver. He's on a Red Bull Racing contract.

"You never know. Maybe he'll get a test one day. You never know."

When asked if Tsunoda could step up to Red Bull in the future, Horner answered:

"You can never rule anything out.

"We have options for multiple years on him because we believe he's a talent."

Tsunoda secured a contract extension with his team for an additional year while Ricciardo is yet to seal a deal for 2025. Despite the contrast between both drivers, Horner revealed that Tsunoda 'benefited' greatly from having Ricciardo as a teammate. He added:

"I think Yuki's doing a good job.

"He got another point, he's stringing weekends together, he's doing a good job.

"I think he's benefited from having Daniel [Ricciardo] alongside him. He'll openly admit that he's learned from Daniel, in terms of having an experienced driver and how they interact with the team and the engineers. 

"Yuki's not a rookie anymore. He's got quite a lot of experience now under his belt, and you can see he's putting that to good use - and in difficult conditions like today, I thought he drove a very good race."

Tsunoda drove his VCARB01 to a 10th-place finish, within the points, at Silverstone after starting from P13 in qualifying. On the other hand, Ricciardo started from P15 on the grid to secure the 13th position.