Yuki Tsunoda remains in consideration for a Red Bull Formula 1 team promotion if he consistently delivers, according to RB CEO Peter Bayer.

In June RB announced Tsunoda would remain at the team for 2025 and in recent weeks he’s been overlooked for a Red Bull spot with Sergio Perez’s place under threat as he underperformed.

With the Red Bull organisation planning to keep both Perez and Daniel Ricciardo at their respective teams for the foreseeable future, next year’s line-ups will take focus, particularly if Perez is unable to solve his poor form.

Bayer has said Tsunoda will be an option for Red Bull if he performs at a consistently high standard.

“Helmut [Marko, Red Bull’s motorsport advisor] said it himself, in German you say a swallow doesn’t make a summer,” Bayer told Autosport. “What it means is that if Yuki keeps racing on this level consistently, he will be considered for a seat in Red Bull Racing.

“That’s ultimately exactly our mission and the mission we’ve been given by the shareholders, and if that means that he needs another season next to a very strong Daniel, that could be an option.

“It could also be an option [to] say that, okay, we now believe he’s ready. So [then] we’ll talk to Liam [Lawson]. We’re not in a hurry, despite all the people [who] think we are, because we do have all the options in our hands.”

Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team talks with Peter Bayer, CEO of Visa Cash App RB after his crash during qualifying

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

RB team principal Laurent Mekies has rated Tsunoda’s improvement in his fourth year in F1 as “phenomenal” and has admired his ambition to move up to Red Bull.

“You expect a lot of things from a young guy between the first and the second year, maybe between the second and the third year,” Mekies said. “But you don’t expect that sort of phenomenal step between third and fourth, so — yes, he’s faster. Yes, he’s calmer. Yes, he’s better integrating the team, better feedback, hopefully happy!

“But seriously, he has been a reference point in the way that he gets out of the garage on Friday FP1 — and, bang: the first lap, he is there.

Mekies added: “Yuki is a Red Bull driver. He must have the ambition to drive for Red Bull Racing. If he doesn’t have that — it’s wrong.

“I hope and I trust that he wants more than anything else to drive that car to win races. We also try to help him developing him in that way. So that’s what the business is.

“Was he fully happy to extend with us to drive for us next year? Yes, [and] it’s a question for him but because what he tells us is that he is mega ambitious, he can see a team [that] is mega ambitious and the fit is obviously working.

“It helps him develop, he has paid us back with quite [an] incredible level of performance.”

Additional reporting by Filip Cleeren and Jonathan Noble

Tsunoda was labelled a fast but slightly inconsistent hothead upon his F1 arrival in 2021 at the tender age of 20, going viral because of his expletive-laden radio messages.

But with it being easier to calm a fast driver down than it is to make a consistently average driver faster, both the team and Tsunoda’s Honda backers kept supporting him as he matured into a tidy, well-rounded racer. Aboard an uncompetitive car, he delivered his best season to date in 2023, proving right outgoing team boss Franz Tost’s adage that a young driver needs three seasons to properly adjust to F1.

As RB proved more competitive than last year, Tsunoda has so far consistently reached Q3 and scored points on five occasions, to the point where his off-track excursion in a wet-to-dry Canadian Grand Prix is now considered out of character.

And with Perez re-signing on a two-year deal, despite a tough recent spell in Imola, Monaco and Canada, it seems like Tsunoda’s career is stalling for reasons beyond his control.

Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team VCARB 01

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

«He has to continue to perform like he does now. Let’s see what the future brings then,» Marko told Autosport. «His development is really good, although it came a little bit later than we expected, but he is now a top driver I would say.»

«This is the first season in which Yuki is consistently fast and he is controlling his emotions, which was his biggest problem before.

«To be fair to him, he had always flashes of speed, but this year besides the China race he is consistently fast. Of course, it is changing his profile.»

Tsunoda understandably looked a bit frustrated when asked to respond to Perez’s contract renewal, a day before his staying put at RB was officially announced.

«Obviously, I’m already committed to Red Bull a lot and hopefully I can have a bit more commitment from them,» he said.

«There’s an ongoing discussion and I want to make sure first of all we’re on the same page with Red Bull after that we’ll see. But I’m happy with RB.

«Even these two years [Perez] has to still perform and in this kind of environment, anything can happen.

Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB20, Pierre Gasly, Alpine A524

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

«So congratulations to him, but for me, I just keep focusing on what I’m doing and just proving myself.

«Hopefully, Red Bull will see more of my progress and my potential performance and maybe [it] can change in the future.»

For 2025 Tsunoda’s fate was in Red Bull’s hands, with it taking up an existing option to keep him on the roster.

But with RB the standout performer in 2024’s midfield, nipping on the heels and even overtaking Aston Martin on certain circuits, perhaps Tsunoda’s best move was to stay where he is all along.

Backed by new sponsors Visa and CashApp, the Anglo-Italian team is looking to evolve into more than just Red Bull’s B-team in both identity and performance.

Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team VCARB 01, Alex Albon, Williams FW46, Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

It has tweaked its driver philosophy, now pairing an experienced driver with an up-and-coming talent rather than being a pure junior team. And with Daniel Ricciardo yet to deliver on a consistent basis, it appears Tsunoda has now moved from the second to the first category and become that experienced pair of hands the squad is happy to build around.

«He has been doing a phenomenal step this year, which went well beyond our expectations. We were expecting a step but in a fourth year doing such a step change is very impressive, both in terms of pace and outside of the car.

«[His progress] is 360 degrees. It’s not just maturity. The pure speed takes steps, the dialogue with the engineers takes a step, the calmness takes a step.

«It is a superb feeling to witness that and it’s also our responsibility to ask ourselves the question: ‘How many steps like that does he still have inside him?’

«We have to make sure that we create the environment for him to develop them and that’s our task for the next months and next year. It has become crucial for the project and natural to continue with him.»

Mekies said he understood any frustrations at being snubbed by Red Bull, and admitted that if Tsunoda continues progressing at his current rate, he might be «difficult to ignore» for Red Bull or rival teams next year.

Peter Bayer, CEO, RB F1 Team, Daniel Ricciardo, Visa Cash App RB F1 Team, Yuki Tsunoda, Visa Cash App RB F1 Team, Laurent Mekies, Team Principal, RB F1 Team, during the drivers parade

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

«He has it, and he’s doing everything he can to prove that. He’s ambitious, we are ambitious. We are pushing each other.

«If he does another step like that next year, he will be difficult to ignore for anyone.»

But until that day comes, Red Bull’s loss is RB’s gain. Red Bull might not fully trust Tsunoda yet, but his current team certainly does.