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Yuki Tsunoda is bound to be a player in the 2027 Formula 1 driver market. Tsunoda is trying to regain his place in F1 after losing his Red Bull drive at the end of last season.
While his disappointing performances next to Max Verstappen have clearly damaged his stock, he still has strong credentials. The Japanese driver has started over 100 Grands Prix and scored 124 points.
Alex Albon, Pierre Gasly and, most recently, Liam Lawson have all demonstrated that a driver shouldn’t be written off just because they struggle at Red Bull. Tsunoda was largely a dependable performer over four full seasons with AlphaTauri/Racing Bulls.
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Still only 25 years old, he is expected to be Red Bull’s reserve driver this season. Should there be another mid-season reshuffle at Milton Keynes, he could feasibly return to the fold.
Honda won’t recommend Yuki Tsunoda for Aston Martin F1 seat
Logically, Tsunoda’s best chance of returning to F1 was joining Aston Martin. He is still tied to Honda, who have just become Aston’s engine suppliers.
Honda’s deal with Red Bull helped secure Tsunoda’s place until the Milton Keynes outfit decided to build their own engines. But president Koji Watanabe says they don’t have the same arrangement with Aston Martin.
And even if they build such a relationship, Honda will be focused on promoting young talent from Formula 2, rather than advocating for a driver who has already raced in F1.
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“There are no such plans as yet,” Watanabe told Motorsport.com. “I expect we will continue to coordinate various programmes with Aston Martin, but at this point there is nothing we have agreed upon that says, ‘Let’s do this right now.’
“Therefore, at this point, we will continue to nurture drivers up to F2 within the HFDP, Honda’s own programme, and if any drivers emerge who are capable of driving in F1, we will recommend them to Aston Martin.”
Aston Martin don’t expect success in 2026 but are hopeful of becoming a force in 2027 when Adrian Newey’s concept is fully realised. Unfortunately for Tsunoda, Lawrence Stroll is targeting F1 superstars instead.
Yuki Tsunoda has two alternatives to Aston Martin in mind
Tsunoda was linked with an Aston Martin reserve role for 2026, which would naturally have made him a contender to replace the ageing Fernando Alonso. But that role has gone to Jak Crawford instead.
2025 Red Bull engineer Richard Wood says Tsunoda has the ‘talent’ to be in F1 and was largely ‘unlucky’ last year.
However, Juan Pablo Montoya fears Tsunoda has already been forgotten, only weeks after he made his last Red Bull appearance in Abu Dhabi.
With Aston Martin all but ruled out, Tsunoda’s camp are targeting Alpine and Haas as potential comeback routes. With a highly-rated Mercedes engine in the back, Alpine could be a dark horse long-term.
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