F1 Silly Season: Yuki Tsunoda is poised to return in 2027, here are the teams he could join

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F1 News & Gossip

F1 star poised to return in 2027, here are the teams he could join

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Chris Deeley Editor

Experienced sports writer covering F1 and other motorsports since 2023

Saturday 11 July 2026 22:29

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Who doesn't love a comeback story?

Over the last year we've finally finished talking about whether Daniel Ricciardo will come back and drive in F1 (he won't). Instead, we have another ex-Red Bull driver who has a big fanbase!

Yuki Tsunoda was dropped from Red Bull's F1 lineup after 22 races as Max Verstappen's team-mate last year, moving into a test/reserve driver role after being replaced by Isack Hadjar.

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A fairly quiet 2025 silly season meant that the Japanese driver didn't have many potential landing spots when his Red Bull exit was announced, but some seats could very much be available this summer as teams look to set their 2027 lineups.

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Where could Tsunoda make an F1 return?

Japanese publication Shiga Sports have optimistically guessed than Tsunoda has better than a 50 per cent chance of making it back on the grid for next year, thanks to 'his popularity in the paddock, commercial value, and hunger for success'.

They also named two potential landing spots: Haas, with their close links to Japanese company Toyota (this would be at the expense of Esteban Ocon, not Ollie Bearman), have been widely touted as a potential spot.

The other is Williams, if Carlos Sainz jumps ship for Audi as has been rumoured as a possibility since the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix. The friendly links there are orders of magnitude more tenuous, and seem to consist entirely of 'hey, James Vowles worked at Honda nearly 20 years ago!'

The 26-year-old would be a welcome re-addition to the grid if he was able to make it back, but that very much remains an open question at this point, with few concrete reports beyond vibes and hope. The summer break is likely to see the market begin to crystallise as the first dominos fall.

F1 Red Bull Williams Yuki Tsunoda Haas