{"id":30070,"date":"2025-02-06T05:00:40","date_gmt":"2025-02-06T10:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/?p=30070"},"modified":"2025-02-06T05:04:58","modified_gmt":"2025-02-06T10:04:58","slug":"yuki-tsunoda-the-biggest-wild-card-in-the-2025-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/02\/06\/yuki-tsunoda-the-biggest-wild-card-in-the-2025-market\/","title":{"rendered":"Yuki Tsunoda: The biggest wild card in the 2025 market"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Red Bull&#8217;s decision to promote <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2024\/10\/10\/red-bull-to-compare-lawson-and-tsunoda-ahead-of-2025-verdict\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Liam Lawson over Yuki Tsunoda<\/a> was one of the biggest talking points in F1 last winter.<\/p>\n<p>Across the paddock, the consensus was that Tsunoda deserved a chance alongside Verstappen.<\/p>\n<p>This was not the only example of Tsunoda&#8217;s market value increasing though &#8211; as several teams wanted his services for 2025.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately for Tsunoda, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/02\/01\/f1-news-red-bull-play-catch-up-in-2025-development-race\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Red Bull<\/a> activated their option on his contract &#8211; preventing him from leaving.<\/p>\n<p>However, the Japanese driver is likely to explore alternatives to the Red Bull family over the coming months.<\/p>\n<h2>Tsunoda: Red Bull journey coming to an end?<\/h2>\n<p>Red Bull spent the majority of last season deliberating on their driver line-up and potential replacement for Sergio Perez.<\/p>\n<p>Once Lawson was brought in at Ricciardo&#8217;s expense, it was became a clear shootout between Tsunoda and Lawson for a promotion.<\/p>\n<p>However, the rhetoric from Christian Horner consistently indicated that Lawson was his preferred choice.<\/p>\n<p>His comments in interviews validated what outlets including LWOS reported throughout 2024 &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2024\/12\/13\/yuki-tsunoda-red-bull-divided-over-the-24-year-olds-future\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Horner has never been especially enthusiastic about Yuki Tsunoda<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Although Helmut Marko showed more belief Tsunoda&#8217;s abilities, this was not enough to tip the scales.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"IhZwj2V5SPFEyINLDzemOg\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/2162294799\" 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:'IhZwj2V5SPFEyINLDzemOg',sig:'BokP5aARLYiL8sLRSc-0Xi3KfGFaN1-hehCtQ4OZfxE=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'2162294799',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n<p>There are many consequences that come from Lawson&#8217;s promotion to the main team.<\/p>\n<p>For Tsunoda, the biggest takeaway is that Red Bull have no intention of putting him alongside <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/02\/05\/verstappen-discusses-potential-le-mans-bid-with-alonso\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Max Verstappen<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Considering his performances against Ricciardo, Lawson and De Vries, there is no reason to expect that Tsunoda&#8217;s performances against Hadjar will change Red Bull&#8217;s perception.<\/p>\n<p>Christian Horner has already indicated that Tsunoda staying at VCARB beyond 2025 would be impractical.<\/p>\n<p>Tsunoda surely shares this perspective. The question is whether better opportunities materialise for the 24-year-old in the F1 market.<\/p>\n<h4>What are Tsunoda&#8217;s other options?<\/h4>\n<p>On paper, the driver market should be far less unpredictable in 2025 than it was last season.<\/p>\n<p>Given the volume of changes and contract agreements made over the last twelve months, a more stable market is likely this year.<\/p>\n<p>There are far <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/01\/06\/f1-news-red-bull-already-have-a-potential-tsunoda-replacement\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">fewer options for Tsunoda outside of the Red Bull set-up<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>This is largely because the Austrian team prevented him from going elsewhere last season &#8211; when there was interest from multiple teams.<\/p>\n<p>Haas and Sauber\/Audi are among those believed to have wanted Tsunoda&#8217;s services for this year.<\/p>\n<p>Interest is understood to have been especially strong from <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/02\/02\/f1-haas-profitable-reach-budget-cap-for-the-first-time\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Haas<\/a>. Team principal Ayao Komatsu is a known admirer of Tsunoda.<\/p>\n<p>Despite missing out on a more volatile market in 2024, there could still be openings this season.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"Eavikp1yRsJ2gtIrdAE-Rg\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/2162889345\" 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:'Eavikp1yRsJ2gtIrdAE-Rg',sig:'m-zUgdgSQIvHYDTkPiGj_1WvIvRv-Dd-FkWMy0gUCyM=',w:'594px',h:'380px',items:'2162889345',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n<p>One team that are rarely linked to Tsunoda, but could certainly consider him, is Cadillac.<\/p>\n<p><strong>READ MORE:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/02\/05\/f1-cadillacs-leading-options-for-their-2026-lineup\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Cadillac&#8217;s leading options for 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<p>As it stands, the likes of Colton Herta and Valtteri Bottas are seen as leading candidates for the US project.<\/p>\n<p>However, it stands to reason that Tsunoda&#8217;s market value is already higher than Bottas&#8217; &#8211; and it could rise even higher still.<\/p>\n<p>Assuming that the 24-year-old outperforms another teammate (Hadjar) this season, there is reason to believe interest in his services will rise.<\/p>\n<p>Moving on from Cadillac, the Japanese driver is frequently linked with an Aston Martin seat &#8211; a theory which has gathered momentum <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/01\/29\/f1-news-honda-admit-we-are-struggling-with-2026-engine\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">since Honda&#8217;s arrival<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In reality, there is little evidence to suggest that Honda will have definitive impact on Aston&#8217;s driver line-up.<\/p>\n<p>Still, his links with the Japanese manufacturer are worth noting.<\/p>\n<h4>A difficult market at the best time<\/h4>\n<p>As outlined above, the paths forward for Tsunoda &#8211; should he l<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/01\/29\/adrian-newey-red-bull-did-not-share-my-development-concerns\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">eave the Red Bull stable<\/a> &#8211; are very limited.<\/p>\n<p>However, the good news is that the 2025 season could be the calm before the storm.<\/p>\n<p>Whilst this year&#8217;s market will be very quiet, the script will completely flip when the 2026 campaign begins.<\/p>\n<p>Most driver contracts are expiring at the end of 2026.<\/p>\n<p>Even those on deals that run until 2027 and beyond (like Max Verstappen) will certainty explore their options in eighteen months time.<\/p>\n<p>Assuming the new regulations shake up the pecking order as anticipated, there will be immense movement across the paddock.<\/p>\n<p>Because of this, Tsunoda&#8217;s priority is not necessarily to find his ideal fit in contract negotiations.<\/p>\n<p>Provided he secures a place on next year&#8217;s grid &#8211; wherever that is &#8211; he puts himself in a position to benefit from his rising demand for his services &#8211; without any intervention from Red Bull.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Red Bull&#8217;s decision to promote Liam Lawson over Yuki Tsunoda was one of the biggest talking points in F1 last winter. Across the paddock, the consensus was that Tsunoda deserved a chance alongside Verstappen. This was not the only example of Tsunoda&#8217;s market value increasing though &#8211; as several teams wanted his services for 2025. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4927,"featured_media":24933,"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":[2452,465,78,2246],"class_list":["post-30070","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-formula-1","category-news","tag-f1-2025-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\/30070","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=30070"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30070\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30074,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30070\/revisions\/30074"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24933"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30070"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30070"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30070"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}