F1 chief confirms Yuki Tsunoda 'negotiations ongoing'

Yuki Tsunoda, British GP, 2025, generic — Photo: © IMAGO

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F1 chief confirms Yuki Tsunoda 'negotiations ongoing'

Tsunoda's Red Bull F1 role could be standing in the way of his future

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Wednesday 14 January 2026 19:44

A motorsport chief has confirmed that negotiations are ongoing regarding Yuki Tsunoda's future, but that his role with Red Bull could be blocking progression into another full-time race seat.

Tsunoda was axed from his position as Max Verstappen's team-mate ahead of the 2026 season after failing to impress the energy drink giants in the challenging second seat.

The 25-year-old only racked up 30 points after being promoted to the main team, an achievement which pales in comparison to Verstappen's 2025 points tally of 421.

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But Tsunoda rather got the short end of the stick. Liam Lawson also failed to perform at Red Bull and after being demoted to Racing Bulls following two race weekends, has retained his seat at the junior team for the upcoming season.

Tsunoda on the other hand will rarely see track action in F1 this year having been demoted to reserve driver, something which it now seems could put his future as a Honda driver in jeopardy.

Does Tsunoda still have a future with Honda?

Since his single-seater debut in 2016, Tsunoda has been considered a Honda driver, something which helped him get his chance in F1 due to the Japanese manufacturers working relationship with Red Bull.

But for 2026, Red Bull have moved towards their own engine project, Red Bull Powertrains, after recruiting the expertise of American manufacturers, Ford.

Honda have instead switched to Aston Martin and will provide the power units for Adrian Newey's new F1 car from 2026.

Tsunoda on the other hand is not making the switch to Aston Martin, so what does his continued role at Red Bull mean for his future with Honda?

Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) president Koji Watanabe told Autosport that the manufacturer "naturally” still considers Tsunoda to be a Honda driver given that he graduated from the Honda Formula Dream Project (HFDP).

Explaining what this means for Tsunoda's future opportunities, Watanabe said: "Regarding this year's contract with Tsunoda, negotiations are ongoing, so no specific agreement has been finalised yet. This will be discussed in future talks."

"From Honda's perspective, there's no problem. The crucial point is how Ford, or rather Red Bull, views the situation. Depending on the terms Red Bull proposes, the scope within which Honda can utilise Tsunoda will change... I believe that scenario is possible.

"The negotiations are not with Tsunoda himself, but with Red Bull," he confirmed.

Watanabe continues to lead HRC across their various motorsport categories, including F1 as the team prepare for their first season as a technical partner of Aston Martin.

But when discussing Tsunoda's prospects with Honda, the HRC president stated that there were 'no plans' yet to involve their graduates in a reserve-style role similar to their arrangement with Red Bull.

Watanabe said. "I expect we will continue to coordinate various programmes with Aston Martin, but at this point there is nothing we have agreed upon that says, ‘Let’s do this right now’."

F1 Red Bull Yuki Tsunoda Honda Koji Watanabe