F1 star reveals next target following BRUTAL Red Bull snub

Yuki Tsunoda, Daniel Ricciardo, VCARB, Visa, Bahrain, 2024 — Photo: © IMAGO

Red Bull

F1 star reveals next target following BRUTAL Red Bull snub

Red Bull F1 team have become infamous for their brutal driver lineup decisions

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Friday 21 February 2025 12:58

A star of the 2025 Formula 1 grid has revealed his next target following a brutal career snub from Christian Horner's Red Bull team.

The outfit's star driver, Max Verstappen, sealed his fourth consecutive drivers' championship victory in 2024 despite his team flailing in the team standings, largely thanks to the severe drop in form of his team-mate, Sergio Perez.

F1 HEADLINES: Verstappen HITS LIMIT with FIA swearing debacle as star departure confirmed

Article continues under video

The Mexican racer concluded the season with two back-to-back DNFs, cementing his eighth-place drivers' championship finish, and he decided to take a sabbatical from the sport at the end of 2024.

His departure hardly came as a shock, and the debate over who his replacement should be had been ongoing for the latter half of last year's campaign.

Among the potential drivers up for promotion to fill Perez's full-time seat was fan-favourite Daniel Ricciardo, but he was ultimately replaced midway through the year at the junior team by Liam Lawson.

Yuki Tsunoda was not handed a promotion to Red Bull for 2025 and will remain with VCARB this season

Tsunoda's former VCARB team-mate Liam Lawson will drive for Red Bull in 2025

To shop official VCARB F1 merchandise, click here to browse a variety of team pieces via F1 fanatics.

Tsunoda delivers honest verdict over Red Bull future

Despite only having six races left in the season to prove himself with VCARB, Kiwi star Lawson found himself immediately up for consideration alongside his team-mate Yuki Tsunoda.

The 24-year-old has raced with the junior F1 team since 2021, and beat Nyck de Vries, Ricciardo and Lawson during his time as their team-mate. Despite proving himself against Lawson however, Horner and Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko opted to partner Verstappen with Lawson for 2025, leaving Tsunoda stuck with VCARB once again.

Speaking ahead of his fifth season with the team, Tsunoda reflected on what the future holds for him in the sport and within the Red Bull family, especially now that the F1 teams will be without the backing of Honda, who will support Aston Martin from 2026.

Red Bull and VCARB will no longer race with Honda engines from 2026 as the Japanese giant switches to Aston Martin

"It depends upon my performance, every season," Tsunoda told media at the F175 event. "Obviously, I would like to stay at the Red Bull family.

"If I'm at Red Bull Racing, that's amazing. If not, still I would still love to be part of this team, I've been in this team five years already.

"I already feel like I'm connected to every person, which is for me very important as a driver to develop myself and focus on what I want to do.

"I feel a lot of support from them, which means a lot to me. Whatever happens there's going to be interesting options, but obviously my main target is to be in this team, the Red Bull family."