On April 6th, 2025, Yuki Tsunoda punched a golden ticket. He drove the No. 22 to a remarkable 12th-place finish for Red Bull. So the team decided after two rounds that Liam Lawson was not the solution and thus switched to Tsunoda. That created the basis of a fuzzy and encouraging dream. But sadly, it cannot last beyond 2025, as Red Bull snapped its ties with Tsunoda.

Yuki Tsunoda is not giving up

“i’m not finished yet,” Yuki Tsunoda wrote on X. “Finding out I won’t have a race seat in 2026 was incredibly tough, but I’m determined to work harder than ever with Red Bull as test and reserve driver to develop with the team, and prove I deserve a place on the grid. Life’s full of setbacks, and this is mine. It’s not going to deter me from being the best F1 driver I can be.”

This gritty and bold statement was in response to Red Bull’s demotion of the 25-year-old Japanese driver to a test and reserve role for 2026. Tsunoda aspired to partner with rookie Arvid Lindblad in Racing Bulls, the team’s sister outfit, but lost out to incumbent Liam Lawson. Tsunoda’s 2025 campaign was the cause, as Max Verstappen easily outperformed him. Tsunoda has scored just 30 points at Red Bull, while the four-time World Champion is going into a three-way title showdown at Abu Dhabi with a tally of 396.

Red Bull team boss Laurent Mackies rolled out a sugarcoated message of demotion. His relationship with Yuki Tsunoda stretches back to the Racing Bulls days. Mekies had stepped up from Racing Bulls team principal to Red Bull Racing boss after Christian Horner was sacked.

“Yuki has raced in Red Bull colours for seven years now, and I have had the pleasure of working with him at both Red Bull teams,” Mekies said. “Through his five seasons so far in Formula 1, Yuki has matured into a complete racer, good over a single lap on Saturday and capable of exceptional starts and excellent race craft on Sunday.”

Yuki Tsunoda’s gritty post on X attracted attention from other F1 entities facing similar difficulties. Former Alpine race driver Jack Doohan commented on his post. Doohan found himself demoted to reserve mid-season, when he was replaced by Franco Colapinto. “You’ll be back brother,” Doohan assured Tsunoda.

Meanwhile, plans for Yuki Tsunoda’s 2026 season are already cooking.

A long list of suitors

Although losing a Red Bull seat may sting any dedicated F1 racer, it is not the end of the world. Such is also the case for Yuki Tsunoda. According to a report from Auto Motor und Sport, Honda offered a deal to Red Bull to retain Tsunoda for 2026. The Austrian team’s challengers are powered by Honda. And the purported deal involved the Japanese manufacturer selling its F1 power units to Red Bull at a discount. Those would be used in their Testing of Previous Cars (TPC) programme. In exchange, Red Bull would keep Tsunoda, Honda’s flag-bearer in F1.

Sadly, Red Bull declined the offer. Nevertheless, Yuki Tsunoda has many other potential opportunities. Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu admires Tsunoda’s talents. Then, if Ferrari moves Oliver Bearman out of the American constructor and into a seat at Maranello, a door could open up for Tsunoda at the Banbury-based F1 team. What’s more, Aston Martin could also be a genuine option for him ahead of 2027. Aston Martin will use Honda engines in their Formula 1 challengers from 2026. So the Japanese manufacturer could end up inking a deal with the Silverstone-based team instead.

All these options paint an optimistic future for Yuki Tsunoda. While he currently processes the setback from Red Bull, 2026 may actually turn out to be bright for him.