Yuki Tsunoda declines taking on new role at Red Bull Racing (for now?)

Red Bull will announce early next week who will become Max Verstappen’s teammate next year. It is expected that Isack Hadjar will be Red Bull Racing's second driver.

Yuki Tsunoda may be in contention for a return to Racing Bulls, where he is competing for a spot against Liam Lawson.

Arvid Lindblad, currently racing in Formula 2, seems fairly certain of a place with Red Bull’s second team.

The driver who misses out next season—Lawson or Tsunoda—is being named as the permanent reserve for Red Bull Racing and Racing Bulls. But Tsunoda is not keen on such a role for the time being, GPblog can report.

When asked this Thursday whether he would consider a sabbatical combined with a reserve role at the Red Bull teams, the Japanese driver said: “I'm not thinking about that direction, to be honest. So yeah, I don't know, I'm not planning anything like that."

Tsunoda has previously been linked with a reserve role at Aston Martin, something engine supplier Honda would support. However, from Tsunoda’s words it seems like a reserve role at the team of newly named team boss Adrian Newey is not an option either—at least if that’s what Tsunoda meant by saying ‘something like that’.

If Tsunoda misses out on a seat within the Red Bull family, it’s very uncertain whether he can find a drive in another racing series. All places in Formula E are filled, and there is a single seat left inin IndyCar for 2026. A return to the Super Formula series in Japan could perhaps offer a way forward.

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