Jul.18 (GMM) Honda would not stop Yuki Tsunoda from racing for a non-Honda affiliated Formula 1 team next year.
Especially without Honda’s backing and sponsorship at Red Bull in 2026 and beyond, it seems increasingly likely that the struggling Japanese driver will be retained by the energy drink brand next year.
His backer, Honda, is switching its works support to Aston Martin, whose cockpits for 2026 are already filled by Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll.
Tsunoda has been linked with the reserve role at Aston Martin, but Honda Racing Corporation president Koji Watanabe thinks there is a chance he will stay at Red Bull.
“There are no discussions about a change,” he told the specialist Japanese source as-web.jp.
Like Liam Lawson and Sergio Perez, Tsunoda has notably struggled to get anywhere close to the pace and results of Max Verstappen this season.
“Looking at the results from the outside, my honest impression is that they are struggling more than we expected,” Watanabe admitted.
“However, after keeping in contact with Yuki and listening to him, it seems that he is taking a more positive view than we thought. If the car’s fighting power can be improved and they can seize the opportunity, I believe they can still do well.
“To that end, we at HRC will continue to provide them with our full support going forward as always.”
Honda’s support of Red Bull, though, will completely end after the season finale in Abu Dhabi. Some think Red Bull could pre-empt this by replacing Tsunoda with Isack Hadjar during the forthcoming August break.
“First of all, there has been no discussion about changing during the summer break,” Watanabe insisted.
“What we are hearing is that just because his performance is a little poor, they will not start discussions about changing right away, but will take a long-term view. I know there are various rumours, but I confirmed with the team that basically Yuki will race for Red Bull until the end of this season.
“And if he can achieve results somewhere in the second half of the season, I think that will expand his possibilities for the future.”
If Red Bull does drop 25-year-old Tsunoda, and is not moved on to Honda-powered Aston Martin, he is already being linked with a potential move to Cadillac.
When asked if the idea of Tsunoda driving a Ferrari-powered Cadillac is a concern for Honda, Watanabe insisted: “No, it’s not.”
Another rumour links Tsunoda with Haas, who are developing an increasing relationship with Honda’s arch Japanese competitor Toyota.
When asked if that might be a problem for Honda, Watanabe answered: “There’s no problem. It’s not Team Toyota.”
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