Honda Racing Corporation President Koji Watanabe has revealed that Yuki Tsunoda has yet to sign a new Formula 1 contract for 2026 as negotiations with Red Bull over his future continue.
Tsunoda has enjoyed a long association with Honda, the Japanese car giant funding his junior series exploits and assisting his arrival into F1 in 2021.
Red Bull’s power unit deal and IP agreement with Honda allowed Tsunoda to stay with Racing Bulls, before his ill fated promotion to Red Bull in 2025.
Having now lost his seat, Tsunoda now faces a year on the sidelines as the team’s Test and Reserve Driver for 2026, presenting an issue for Honda.
Honda will now supply Aston Martin for 2026, while Red Bull will use its own power units in collaboration with Ford, leaving Tsunoda’s future at Honda in the balance.
Watanabe gave an update on the deadlock at Tokyo Auto Salon, confirming talks over the company’s protege’s future remain ongoing.
“Regarding this year’s contract with Tsunoda, negotiations are ongoing, so no specific agreement has been finalised yet,” he confirmed.
“This will be discussed in future talks.
“From Honda’s perspective, there’s no problem. The crucial point is how Ford, or rather Red Bull, views the situation.
“Depending on the terms Red Bull proposes, the scope within which Honda can utilise Tsunoda will change… I believe that scenario is possible.
“The negotiations are not with Tsunoda himself, but with Red Bull.”
What next for Honda junior drivers?
Supplying power units to Aston Martin has raised questions about whether Honda will field a junior driver at the British team as part of the deal, a claim Watanabe denied.
“There are no such plans as yet,” he confirmed. “I expect we will continue to coordinate various programmes with Aston Martin, but at this point there is nothing we have agreed upon that says, ‘Let’s do this right now’.
“Therefore, at this point, we will continue to nurture drivers up to F2 within the HFDP, Honda’s own programme, and if any drivers emerge who are capable of driving in F1, we will recommend them to Aston Martin.”
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