Yuki Tsunoda has revealed that a team’s competitiveness would not be the standalone thing he considers with a possible move outside the Red Bull Formula 1 stable.
Tsunoda has missed out on a coveted promotion to the parent Red Bull team as recent team-mate Liam Lawson has been nominated to replace Sergio Perez in 2025.
Red Bull chose to overlook Tsunoda once again despite his most productive campaign to date and Lawson having amassed less than a dozen race starts in the sport.
Even Tsunoda’s debut appearance in a Red Bull at the post-season test in Abu Dhabi wasn’t enough to eradicate its doubts about partnering him with Max Verstappen.
But while he will remain with the rebadged Racing Bulls team for a fifth season in 2025, Red Bull boss Christian Horner has admitted it might have to release Tsunoda.
Tsunoda, though, has highlighted that departing the Red Bull organisation would be dependent on him discovering a suitable environment at another team on the grid.
“I think, yeah, obviously performance is important,” the Japanese driver told Motorsport Week in an exclusive interview.
“But also, I don’t know what Pierre [Gasly] decided [when he left], what’s the reasons. But I’m sure Pierre didn’t decide just the performance at that point.
“Maybe, you know, Alpine is the French team, and he’s French as well, so that’s kind of included, you know, maybe.
“It’s also that I want to focus on vibe and everything, so yeah, I wouldn’t necessarily just pick up the performance.
“Also how the team principal looks like, and how the team’s atmosphere suits my characteristics as well. I would consider those things.
“Obviously performance is the biggest thing, obviously, but not just that.
“And I wouldn’t really consider Pierre’s situation, to be honest, and it depends on also [the] team’s project and everything, so yeah.
“But so far I’m happy with the Red Bull family. This is where I’ve grown up the last couple of years.
“Hopefully I can have a successful career in this team. But let’s see how it goes in the future.”
Tsunoda unsure about 2026 prospects
Tsunoda divulged earlier this term that he held tentative discussions with various teams prior to Red Bull exercising an option to keep him at the Faenza-based squad.
But despite indicating that the time might come when he has to look elsewhere, Tsunoda hasn’t ruled out remaining with Racing Bulls upon F1’s rules revamp in 2026.
Asked whether he would make approaches to rivals should Red Bull’s snub continue, he said to media including Motorsport Week: “To be honest, it’s not really clear.
“I could be in 2026 in VCARB as well, to be honest. I didn’t get told anything that it would be the last race, next year.
“I think they changed their approach a little bit [with drivers]. To be honest, I’m not really clear what they want.
“But as a driver, to be honest, I can’t just keep relying on them. Especially, there’s been a lot of talk going on.
“So it’s always good to have something, an option, but so far I’m not necessarily trying to find that, to be honest.
“Because the current situation, I’m not saying… It’s not always a really bad situation right now.
“It depends on, I guess, what car I’m driving next year and also how the season goes for next year.”
READ MORE – Red Bull admits choosing Liam Lawson over Yuki Tsunoda was a ‘tight’ call
