Why Yuki Tsunoda ‘will go’ from RB at the end of the 2025 Formula 1 season

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Visa Cash App RB are set to line up for the United States Grand Prix with a new driver pairing.

Daniel Ricciardo’s return to Formula 1 lasted just over a season, with a five-race hiatus at the back end of 2023 after breaking his hand at Zandvoort.

The man who replaced him in the Netherlands last year – Liam Lawson – is set to return to the grid in Austin for the final six races of the campaign.

It highlights the panicked feel around Red Bull and RB’s decision-making over the past several years in the driver market.

Hiring Nyck de Vries off the back of one strong race at Monza in 2022 was the catalyst for the latest coming and going within Red Bull’s sister team, but a pattern of poor choices is beginning to emerge.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Visa Cash App RB F1 Team from team principal to Red Bull relationship

Particularly when you see Alex Albon, Carlos Sainz and Pierre Gasly – all Red Bull junior team graduates – succeeding up and down the Formula 1 paddock.

Yuki Tsunoda is the driver caught in the crossfire as he prepares for a fifth consecutive season at RB in 2025.

However, journalist Mat Coch was speaking on the Pit Talk Podcast about the Japanese driver’s future.

He believes that his time with RB will come to an end after next season.

Tsunoda has out-performed Ricciardo this season but has failed to pull up any trees, and the conclusion of Red Bull’s engine deal with Honda is likely to see the 24-year-old’s time with the team come to an end.

Yuki Tsunoda ‘will go’ from RB before 2026 F1 season when Red Bull’s Honda deal ends

Talking about the driving situation at RB as a whole with Ricciardo set to move on, Coch said: “So, Red Bull’s in a position where it also needs to start looking to the future.

“As soon as you start looking to the future, what’s the value in the now?

“You either throw all of your eggs in that basket, or you focus on today.

“And given where Red Bull is, that’s why it makes a little bit more sense – it doesn’t make it any easier to digest or accept – but that’s why it makes more sense because behind Liam Lawson you’ve got Isack Hadjar and Arvid Lindblad and a couple of other kids that are on the radar as well.

“So, there is that production line that starts to come through once more.

READ MORE: Visa Cash App RB driver Yuki Tsunoda’s life outside F1 from height to parents

“Then, when you start to think a little bit beyond this year, Yuki Tsunoda will go when the Honda deal ends so there’s another seat.

“You want Liam well out of the way so you can begin to groom the next driver in to replace Yuki.

“So, it makes sense but this isn’t a decision made because of who Daniel is or what Daniel’s done, at least not what Daniel’s done in the short term.

“This has nothing to do with Daniel’s performance and a lot to with politics and future thinking.”

Nico Rosberg explains why Red Bull haven’t promoted Yuki Tsunoda

Red Bull look set to miss out on a third consecutive Constructors’ Championship this year due to McLaren’s incredible resurgence.

They could even finish behind Ferrari and the gulf in points between Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez is clear to see.

The RB team is designed to prepare drivers to step up to drive for Red Bull but after nearly four full seasons, Tsunoda appears to be no closer to that coveted promotion.

Nico Rosberg shared in Singapore why he thinks Red Bull haven’t promoted Tsunoda, which will be a source of immense frustration.

If his F1 future is connected to Honda, then a move to Aston Martin makes the most logical sense.

Tsunoda admitted earlier in the year there was a chance of a move to Aston Martin before he signed a new RB deal.

There were even suggestions that Tsunoda could become Aston Martin’s next reserve driver, with the Japanese driver not a like-for-like replacement for Fernando Alonso and unlikely to displace team owner Lawrence Stroll’s son Lance from their line-up.