Why Yuki Tsunoda has ended up being ‘collateral damage’ in Red Bull seat talks as Honda exit nears

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The summer break in Formula 1 started with everyone in the paddock knowing that a key decision was coming from Red Bull on their driver line-up.

Sergio Perez has failed to produce the level of performance required to continue driving for a team chasing the Constructors’ Championship.

The Mexican driver has failed to finish in the top six of any race since the Miami Grand Prix and has tumbled down the Drivers’ Championship as a result.

Red Bull held a meeting after the Belgian Grand Prix to decide Perez’s future and had plenty of options to choose from if they wanted to make a switch.

Daniel Ricciardo was seen as Perez’s most likely replacement despite not having the best season with RB.

Red Bull also have a plethora of talent in their academy and reserve driver Liam Lawson was also touted as an option to jump into Perez’s seat.

The one driver who never appeared to be in the conversation for a promotion was Yuki Tsunoda.

Tsunoda has outscored Ricciardo this season and taken a clear step forward during his fourth Formula 1 season.

Journalist Chris Medland was speaking on the Pad-Hoc Podcast and explained why he thinks the Japanese driver has been snubbed when discussing Perez’s potential replacement.

Senior Red Bull management have been unconvinced by Tsunoda despite tying him down to a new RB deal during the Canadian Grand Prix weekend.

Medland suggests that the impending end to Red Bull’s deal with Honda might explain their attitude towards Tsunoda.

The 24-year-old has been backed by Honda throughout his career but they will no longer be working with Red Bull from 2026 onwards, signing an exclusive deal with one of their rivals on the grid.

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Yuki Tsunoda could be ‘collateral damage’ as Red Bull deal with Honda ends

Talking about the situation within Red Bull, Medland said: “But then they’ve got their own junior driver program where they’re looking at other options.

“I think it’s a bit weird that they’re not then using what they have at their disposal right now in place of Checo if they needed to do something.

“Yuki should be given a shot, it makes no sense to me, but there’s something obviously internal there, whether it’s just pain at Honda, leaving them in the lurch and forcing them to turn themselves into an engine supplier as well.

“I don’t know if he’s like collateral damage in that because they don’t want to promote a driver that’s Honda-backed.

“But I think if you look further down the line, they’re looking at Lawson, looking at Hadjar, looking at [Ayumu] Iwasa, they’ve got a few in there that are pretty talented.”

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How long with Yuki Tsunoda stay within the Red Bull group?

Given the nature of the Formula 1 driver’s market this year, Tsunoda may have signed a new one-year contract with the Red Bull group just to make sure he wasn’t caught out among all the changing parts.

However, Tsunoda must feel that he doesn’t have a long-term future with Red Bull if he’s been overlooked once again for a promotion despite Perez’s awful recent form.

Several teams were interested in Tsunoda before he put pen to paper at RB suggesting his reputation in the paddock has been enhanced in the past few months.

Aston Martin were interested in Tsunoda as they prepare to begin work with Honda in 2026.

New team Audi also had an interest in Tsunoda but their struggles this year haven’t made them the enticing proposition in the market that they would have hoped.

Tsunoda is right to bide his time within the Red Bull family right now, but he will need to consider his future sooner rather than later as Helmut Marko aims to turn the RB team back into a junior program.