Forced to the sidelines
Yuki Tsunoda and his management are exploring options. In 2026, the 25-year-old Japanese driver will have to sit on the sidelines after Red Bull demoted him to a reserve role following a disastrous season alongside Max Verstappen, choosing not to grant him any further opportunities in Racing Bulls. The #22’s career is now at a crossroads: if Tsunoda wants a future in the Circus, he will need to leverage this year off to negotiate with another team that can offer him a race seat in 2027. Recent F1 history provides several examples of this path: Esteban Ocon, Alex Albon, Sergio Perez, and Nico Hulkenberg all spent at least one season away from the grid before returning as full-time drivers.
Two options on the table
Regardless of his relationship with Honda – which has ‘nurtured’ Tsunoda and which from this year will supply Aston Martin, potentially opening a green opportunity for Yuki, though difficult to imagine at the moment – there are two other teams that could be interested in the Japanese driver’s services looking ahead, at least according to Japanese media: Haas and Alpine. The American team – managed by Ayao Komatsu, a fellow countryman of Tsunoda – could lose Ollie Bearman at the end of 2026 if Ferrari deems it the right time to promote the Englishman to a Red seat, possibly replacing Lewis Hamilton. However, the potential complication is Haas’ increasingly close partnership with Toyota. Would another Japanese manufacturer be willing to ‘save’ the career of a driver long supported by Honda?
The situation is different at the Enstone-based team, which will no longer use Renault engines but will switch to Mercedes power units this year. While Pierre Gasly’s seat is secure until the end of the 2028 season, Franco Colapinto’s position is more precarious: the Argentine ended the 2025 Championship without scoring points. Flavio Briatore confirmed his seat, but the appeals are over. A negative 2026 season would likely end Colapinto’s career at the team. Yuki Tsunoda could represent a more experienced alternative, but he would have to compete for the seat with Estonian Paul Aron, four years younger than the former Red Bull driver and developed in the Alpine Academy. It will certainly take significant lobbying and strategic effort from Yuki Tsunoda’s management to bring him back onto the F1 grid.
As Yuki Tsunoda transitions into his role as a reserve driver for 2026, his path back to a full-time seat depends on strategic maneuvering and the potential openings at Haas or Alpine as both teams evaluate their future lineups.
Leave a Reply