Tsunoda targets Red Bull or Aston Martin for 2025

Despite enjoying an encouraging spell at the Visa RB team, Yuki Tsunoda has revealed that he is ready to leave his current team should a more promising opportunity emerge for next year.

Tsunoda made his F1 debut in 2021 with the Faenza-based outfit which was then called AlphaTauri. The Japanese driver was paired with Pierre Gasly for his first two seasons at the pinnacle of motorsport before the Frenchman elected to leave the Italian team in favour of Alpine.

The former F2 driver raced alongside Nick de Vries and Liam Lawson last year before Daniel Ricciardo took the second seat at the Italian team which has been renamed as Visa Cash App RB outfit for the current season.

Tsunoda did not have an impressive start to the 2024 F1 season, having struggled for pace in the opening races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. He then went on to score his first points in Australia, finishing the Melbourne race in P7.

At his home race, he narrowly finished inside the point-scoring zone, ending up tenth to add a single point. While Tsunoda retired from the race in Shanghai, he took a 7th and 10th-placed finish in the last two races in Miami and Imola.

Speaking of his season so far, Tsunoda said: "I mean, so far very happy with the VCARB. I mean, now we're fighting, like, almost... Yeah, sometimes like even P7 or P8, so I mean other options… and like probably now the top teams are pretty much taken so… I mean, probably we're the strongest team in the midfield at least.

Asked about his plans for next year, Tsunoda disclosed that he has ambitious targets as he would like to step up the ladder. He did not hide that he is eager to join the senior team of Red Bull, albeit he is also open to other possibilities, including Aston Martin which will partner with Honda from 2026.

"We'll see. I think, obviously, especially when I'm in Red Bull, you want to always aim for Red Bull. But, you know, if they don't want me or, you know, they're not expecting me into the seat, yeah, if I've got an interesting offer that could be better than even VCARB or Red Bull, yeah, I'll think about it.

"But I also have a big loyalty to Red Bull as without them I wouldn't be here. And obviously Honda as well. And speaking of Honda, maybe Aston Martin, but you know, Aston also, they’re taken by two drivers. So yeah, I mean, it's pretty open, but so far I'm happy with VCARB," Tsunoda said.