F1 News: Helmut Marko admits Red Bull F1 star being TARGETED by rivals

helmut marko, sergio perez, red bull — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

Marko admits Red Bull F1 star being TARGETED by rivals

Yuki Tsunoda is being tracked for an F1 move to a rival team

Shay Rogers

Tuesday 26 March 2024 13:54

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Helmut Marko has admitted that one Red Bull star is being lined up by other teams for a possible move beyond the end of the 2024 season.

Currently, there are a few question marks over the futures of certain drivers within the Red Bull talent pool – particularly Sergio Perez and Daniel Ricciardo.

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However, Red Bull lie top of the constructors’ standings, while sister team Visa Cash App RB are sixth after a fantastic performance by Yuki Tsunoda at the Australian Grand Prix.

While they haven’t extracted everything possible from every race so far, they are still achieving about as much as they could have at this stage.

While all the attention has been on Perez, Ricciardo and even Carlos Sainz for a future Red Bull seat, one man who has been conducting his business fairly quietly is now starting to be noticed by rival teams.

Daniel Ricciardo has struggled for pace in 2024

Yuki Tsunoda’s seventh place at the Australian Grand Prix is the difference between his team being four places low than they currently lie in the standings.

In the absence of any heroics from his more experienced Australian team-mate Ricciardo, he has stepped up to deliver in his fourth season in Formula 1.

Helmut Marko chats with Red Bull boss Christian Horner

Where could Tsunoda land next?

It’s something that Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko told speekweek.com that he has noted, and it’s attracting other teams to his services.

His problems were lack of control, outbursts and proneness to errors,” said Marko. “All of that is gone this season. Yuki came to Europe very young and that is very, very hard for a Japanese person.

“It's a completely different life for us. But now things are working, and Yuki is being noticed on the driver market.”

Honda’s 2026 engine deal with Aston Martin could hold serious repercussions for Tsunoda’s future, with the company that backs his career switching allegiance.

Will Fernando Alonso be around by then aged 44? It’s hard to tell. But, Tsunoda has to be considered a front-running candidate for any future Aston Martin seats available with Honda in mind.