Marko on Tsunoda contract extension: 'You can assume that it will happen'

Nyck de Vries did not perform well enough and thus had to leave AlphaTauri. With its own junior team with numerous drivers vying for a spot in Formula 1, it would perhaps make sense to offer a talent from its own stable the chance for the remaining 12 Grands Prix. Liam Lawson, for example. Helmut Marko explains why Lawson has been passed over. He also discusses the future of Yuki Tsunoda.

Lawson must be patient

Some former drivers and analysts labelled the choice of Daniel Ricciardo as the 'bankruptcy' of the Red Bull junior programme. Marko disagrees. "We have been in contact with Liam. He will be a reserve driver for both teams for the rest of the season and complete the 'Young Drivers Test'. So the development process continues and it would certainly have been wrong to take him out of the championship."

Lawson finished third in the Formula 2 championship last season. The 21-year-old driver was sent to Japan by Marko to go the'Pierre Gasly route': racing on the other side of the world in a very different culture, in a competitive class and in cars that are perhaps closest to an F1 car. After six out of eight races, he is second in the championship with a gap of just one point to the leader.

The choice of Ricciardo, who has already driven more than 200 races in the pinnacle of motorsport, made much more sense, Marko said to Kleine Zeitung. "That obviously helps and with his experience he can clearly tell us what to do with the car and how." AlphaTauri scored just two World Cup points in 10 races, putting the Faenza-based team last in the constructors' championship.

Tsunoda longer with Red Bull family?

Meanwhile, the battle for the 2025 Red Bull seat (or earlier if Sergio Perez continues to perform moderately) seems completely open. A Perez contract extension could be an option, bringing back Ricciardo is a possibility, but maybe Yuki Tsunoda will just get the chance. The Japanese has started the 2023 season strongly and Marko is extremely pleased with his pupil.

A new commitment is obvious. "Of course it depends on further results. But there are already talks with our partner Honda. You can assume it will happen [and contract extension], if you take this year's performance as a basis." However, there is a 'but' in this story. From 2026, Honda will be Aston Martin's engine supplier and it could be the case that Honda, which still supports Tsunoda, wants to take him to put in the Aston Martin.