F1 News: Yuki Tsunoda Raises Doubts About Red Bull Promotion - 'Politics'

Saajan Jogia | 11 Hours Ago

Nov 20, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Visa Cash App RB driver Yuki Tsunoda (22) poses for photos at Las Vegas Circuit. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

VCARB driver Yuki Tsunoda has revealed that he has a problem trusting Red Bull's claims that he is being assessed alongside Liam Lawson for a 2025 promotion that could pitch him alongside Max Verstappen. The Japanese driver revealed that he has been doing his best to prove himself worthy of a Red Bull seat but claimed that he isn't being taken seriously due to alleged internal "politics."

While Daniel Ricciardo joined Red Bull's junior team last year alongside Tsunoda, the latter consistently demonstrated his talent by outperforming the veteran on most race weekends. Lawson, who was Red Bull's reserve driver, replaced Ricciardo after the Singapore race and is also under close scrutiny. Both Lawson and Tsunoda are reportedly being evaluated as potential options should Sergio Perez’s performance struggles persist.

Tsunoda delivered an impressive performance in Brazil, securing a strong P7 finish, which was his best result of the 2024 season. He followed it up with a solid P9 in the Las Vegas Grand Prix, building momentum as the season heads into its final two rounds. The 24-year-old driver feels there is little reason to doubt his readiness for a promotion to Red Bull. He said:

“I mean, not just last weekend, I guess throughout the years, I think I’m showing quite good, and it’s up to them, and I’ve just got to do whatever I can to… There’s not much reasons to point out why they don’t want to put me in the Red Bull.

“So the next two races I’ve just got to keep doing what I’m doing and try to show my performance consistently."

When asked if he felt he was a real contender to Perez, he said:

 “I don’t know. Please could you interview them and find out?

“To be honest, I don’t know. Even whatever they say in the interview, even they say, ‘Yuki is in the mix’, I don’t know if that’s the truth or not to be honest.

“So, yeah, I hope I’m in that mix, and if not, I don’t know what I should do more than this, to be honest.

“I’ll just keep pushing and things I can control. And those things, the Red Bull seat, they decide everything. I’m sure if I’m in the seat, I can fight for a higher Constructors’ Championship [position] and what they want.

“But, other things, politics things. They decide what they want.

“Historically looking back, it’s pretty natural that the driver, for example, in our team, if one driver outperforms the other driver like this consistently the last few years, you get promoted. It’s kind of a natural thing.

“Maybe something changed. The dynamics maybe changed, Red Bull itself changed after Mr. Mateschitz passed away.

“I mean, one of the drivers has got a Drivers’ Championship, and this is a team that has had success since quite a long time, so what they’re doing is I guess not a bad thing, but it doesn’t really make sense for me that I didn’t really be in the mix much so far.

“I don’t know much. For myself at least, I can’t find much reasons why they’re not really, so far, talking about me heavily.”

Tsunoda recognized that there may be behind-the-scenes factors influencing the delay in his promotion. However, regardless of the direction Red Bull chooses to take, the VCARB driver made it clear that his performance will make it impossible for the team to overlook him. When asked if it was frustrating not yet being in discussions with Red Bull for a seat, he said:

“I got used to it.

“It’s just throughout the year, I thought what I’ve done, especially since Daniel, you know, if one or the other goes really well, I thought is going to Red Bull or whatever, they really haven’t. And probably since last year a little bit as well.

“So, more I just got used to it and unfortunately this is the situation, or I guess, dynamics how Red Bull works I guess. Maybe they’re facing difficult things, different things that probably I don’t know, or we don’t know, in the background.

“I’ve just got to force them with my results or my performance, ‘We really need Yuki in our seat, otherwise, things will change’. I’ve just got to force them with my performance.”

With only a three-point gap to Alpine in sixth place, Tsunoda was asked if helping the team secure P6 in the Constructors' Championship could lead to a Red Bull promotion. He added:

“The Constructors’ is not just about me, but I will feel definitely responsible as a driver, myself, if we are able to achieve P6, because maybe a couple of races I could have done better, but I’m sure every team, every driver does have those situations.

“And if they say, ‘Okay, P6 is the task that you have to be in the Red Bull seat’, it’s a pretty difficult thing to say, because the team championship is combined between the team’s drivers, not just individual drivers.

“But I’ll do as much as I can. And I take it as that way, I guess. And hopefully, if I can score P6, that will give a better reason to put me in the Red Bull seat.”