{"id":28239,"date":"2024-12-10T09:41:02","date_gmt":"2024-12-10T14:41:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/?p=28239"},"modified":"2024-12-10T09:47:44","modified_gmt":"2024-12-10T14:47:44","slug":"why-yuki-tsunoda-is-at-a-dead-end-with-red-bull","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2024\/12\/10\/why-yuki-tsunoda-is-at-a-dead-end-with-red-bull\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Yuki Tsunoda is at a dead end with Red Bull"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Yuki Tsunoda is expected to miss out on a 2025 <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2024\/12\/09\/red-bull-reveal-what-could-be-their-kryptonite-in-2025\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Red Bull<\/a> seat, which will likely be filled by Liam Lawson. The Japanese driver&#8217;s prospects at Milton Keynes are limited, with a promotion still out of reach.<\/p>\n<h2>Tsunoda loses out to Lawson in race for Red Bull contract<\/h2>\n<p>Since arriving to VCARB at the American GP, Liam Lawson was well-positioned to replace Sergio Perez.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2024\/07\/20\/horner-out-of-patience-with-perez-we-cant-run-on-one-leg\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Christian Horner<\/a>, whose influence over decisions has sharply increased relative to Helmut Marko, is understood to have long-standing reservations about promoting Tsunoda.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Horner sees Lawson as someone capable of improving and performing at a high level for Red Bull.<\/p>\n<p>Not for the first time in recent years, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2024\/11\/29\/helmut-marko-tsunoda-needs-more-stability-for-red-bull-seat\/\" target=\"_self\">Tsunoda<\/a> became a useful benchmark for the Austrian team to evaluate a more highly rated candidate.<\/p>\n<p>However, he himself was never at the top of Red Bull&#8217;s shortlist for 2025.<\/p>\n<h4>Lawson was always Christian Horner&#8217;s preference<\/h4>\n<p>The Red Bull team principal hinted at his preference before Lawson&#8217;s debut:<\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;I think Yuki&#8217;s stepped up a gear again this year.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;It&#8217;s just going to be fascinating to see how quickly he [Lawson] adapts, how quickly he gets on with it&#8230;<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;Taking him as the data point, we saw where Daniel compared to Yuki.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;It will just be very interesting to see how Liam performs over the remining six races.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>These comments, like many from Red Bull&#8217;s senior personnel, described Tsunoda as an important reference for the team &#8211; as opposed to a candidate to partner Verstappen.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"v6W_9AilTcRlqDcFfzz-tQ\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/2187575873\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'v6W_9AilTcRlqDcFfzz-tQ',sig:'tzlelRh7A-ePeTrTR-ZHFvEcs5rP0VyO6cyytdjo4Co=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'2187575873',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n<p><strong>READ MORE:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2024\/12\/07\/liam-lawson-set-to-replace-sergio-perez-at-red-bull\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Liam Lawson set to replace Sergio Perez<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Perhaps it would be a stretch to suggest that Tsunoda was never in contention for a Red Bull seat.<\/p>\n<p>There was always a scenario where, if Lawson struggled in his comeback, the Japanese driver would be the only realistic option to be promoted.<\/p>\n<p>However, this was always unlikely to happen<\/p>\n<p>Because of the experience gap between Lawson and Tsunoda, the Kiwi was never expected to outperform his teammate.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, the 22-year-old&#8217;s target was to be within touching distance of Tsunoda.<\/p>\n<p>By doing this, the VCARB driver would give Christian Horner the confidence that &#8211; with more experience &#8211; he could become a strong asset for Red Bull.<\/p>\n<h4>Tsunoda in a lose-lose situation<\/h4>\n<p>In many ways, this dynamic has always been present within the Milton Keynes outfit.<\/p>\n<p>When Yuki Tsunoda faced off against Nyck de Vries, the expectation heading into 2023 was that the Dutchman would lead the team.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.autosport.com\/f1\/news\/marko-de-vries-should-be-alphatauri-f1s-team-leader-in-2023\/10386443\/#:~:text=Red%20Bull&#039;s%20Helmut%20Marko%20believes,season%2C%20despite%20his%20rookie%20status.&amp;text=After%20missing%20out%20on%20an,2020%2D21%20championship%20with%20Mercedes.\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Helmut Marko<\/a> was among those who expected De Vries to be <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2024\/12\/02\/isack-hadjar-inches-closer-to-2025-vcarb-seat\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">VCARB&#8217;s<\/a> fastest driver.<\/p>\n<p>When Tsunoda outperformed his new teammate, the conclusion was not that he deserved praise or a chance at Red Bull.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, the team concluded that De Vries was not fast enough &#8211; resulting in Ricciardo&#8217;s mid-season arrival.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"Nltzx4aaTXdZJGskh5ESGA\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/2186054370\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'Nltzx4aaTXdZJGskh5ESGA',sig:'Ff7SVUGwlzaw1HvCik0afdLkxx7WYozMgN9Ils3vnc0=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'2186054370',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Similarly, despite showing some flashes of his old self, Daniel Ricciardo also failed to outscore Tsunoda.<\/p>\n<p>In controversial but not necessarily unprecedented circumstances, the 8-time race winner was replaced at the Singapore GP.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking of Daniel Ricciardo, Christian Horner&#8217;s team have spent over half a decade trying to find someone capable of matching his output. Until now, their efforts have been unsuccessful.<\/p>\n<p>For now, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2024\/11\/06\/liam-lawson-receives-boost-in-red-bull-contract-hopes\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Lawson<\/a> is set to be their next attempt to reinforce Verstappen.<\/p>\n<h4>Lawson enters a more forgiving Red Bull environment<\/h4>\n<p>Liam Lawson, though perhaps <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2024\/11\/21\/tsunoda-ill-keep-destroying-teammates-until-i-get-red-bull-seat\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">half a step slower than Tsunoda<\/a>, drove at a respectable level this season.<\/p>\n<p>Because of this, there is evidence enough for Christian Horner that Lawson could meaningfully contribute at Red Bull.<\/p>\n<p>Moreover, unlike in previous years, Red Bull seem far more willing to give their drivers time to acclimatise.<\/p>\n<p>However, none of this will take away from the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2024\/11\/23\/yuki-tsunoda-i-know-what-i-could-do-in-a-red-bull\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">growing frustration about Tsunoda&#8217;s place<\/a> in the team.<\/p>\n<p>After all, Lawson has been involved in his fair share of incidents since returning to F1 &#8211; yet receives far less scrutiny for these errors than Tsunoda did in previous years.<\/p>\n<p>Looking ahead to the 2026 regulation changes, it would not be surprising if &#8211; like former teammate Pierre Gasly &#8211; Tsunoda grows tired of being overlooked and considers options elsewhere on the grid.<\/p>\n<p>Tsunoda&#8217;s post-season Red Bull test, whilst noteworthy, only happened at Honda&#8217;s insistence.<\/p>\n<p>It does not reflect any change in the Austrian team&#8217;s driver preferences.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Yuki Tsunoda is expected to miss out on a 2025 Red Bull seat, which will likely be filled by Liam Lawson. The Japanese driver&#8217;s prospects at Milton Keynes are limited, with a promotion still out of reach. Tsunoda loses out to Lawson in race for Red Bull contract Since arriving to VCARB at the American [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4927,"featured_media":28240,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3],"tags":[2220,465,78,2246],"class_list":["post-28239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-formula-1","category-news","tag-2024-formula-1-season","tag-f1-news","tag-red-bull-racing","tag-vcarb"],"modified_by":"Jaden Diaz-Ndisang","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28239","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4927"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28239"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28239\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28248,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28239\/revisions\/28248"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28240"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}