Yuki in 2025

[Jarvis]

There are news circulating that Yuki Tsunoda isn't likely to get a seat at Red Bull and he wants to go to another team. In which team do you think he will be racing in 2025?

[Row Man Gross-Gene]

I don't know where makes sense, but seriously, of the 4 drivers in Red Bull owned cars this season, he's the second best. It's ridiculous that he's the one not getting re-upped. If they don't want to put Sainz in the other Red Bull senior seat, fine, but please don't put Perez back in there. Give Yuki a shot in the big team!

[Har1MAS1415]

He's hardly Gasly or Albon with regards to standing a chance against Max.

[mario]

I don't know where makes sense, but seriously, of the 4 drivers in Red Bull owned cars this season, he's the second best. It's ridiculous that he's the one not getting re-upped. If they don't want to put Sainz in the other Red Bull senior seat, fine, but please don't put Perez back in there. Give Yuki a shot in the big team!

You might be disappointed at Perez's performance, but the rumours right now are that Perez is still Red Bull's favoured choice and is close to agreeing terms with Red Bull for a contract extension. The Race are pretty convinced that Red Bull are going to extend his contract, and that it's a matter of finalising a few minor details in their contract - indeed, they're suggesting that it's more of a case of Perez being signed despite his slumps in performance.

Right now, it seems that Tsunoda is just simply not of interest to Red Bull - there have been suggestions that Marko sees Tsunoda's role as merely keeping Honda happy for now, and somewhat resents having to run him instead of his preferred choice of driver. As for Horner, it seems that he is perhaps not quite so ill-disposed towards Tsunoda as Marko, but also does not see him as part of the future of the senior team and is prepared to let him go. Perhaps there is some belief that Tsunoda may go elsewhere - either following Honda over to Aston Martin when that becomes the works team, or going to another team - but, either way, it seems they aren't that interested in him.

The reasons why Perez is being chosen is apparently not because he's viewed as the best driver, but rather that he fills a seat, won't threaten Max's position on track most of the time, doesn't threaten to upset the internal politics of Red Bull and has a decent chunk of sponsorship behind him. He is the blandest option Red Bull could opt for, but if it keeps Max sweet, then that's what they're likely to go for.

[Har1MAS1415]

What is it about Japanese drivers that causes F1 teams to resent having run them?

Tsunoda is hardly the first Japanese driver to have been treated like this.

[sswishbone]

What is it about Japanese drivers that causes F1 teams to resent having run them?

Tsunoda is hardly the first Japanese driver to have been treated like this.

I liken it to when Briatore said that Antonio Pizzonia was about 95%, and never found the missing 5%. Kobayashi, Sato, Suzuki, Yakomoto... They had great "on their day" but it didn't come quite often enough (what if Toyota remained for 2010 and any of them got a shot?).

Tsunoda is doing great, however, he just doesn't seem to have that edge. What I want to know, is what Lawson has to do to get a shot?

[mario]

What is it about Japanese drivers that causes F1 teams to resent having run them?

Tsunoda is hardly the first Japanese driver to have been treated like this.

I liken it to when Briatore said that Antonio Pizzonia was about 95%, and never found the missing 5%. Kobayashi, Sato, Suzuki, Yakomoto... They had great "on their day" but it didn't come quite often enough (what if Toyota remained for 2010 and any of them got a shot?).

Tsunoda is doing great, however, he just doesn't seem to have that edge. What I want to know, is what Lawson has to do to get a shot?

What might also have been an issue is that, in many cases, those drivers were strongly associated with an engine manufacturer that might interfere with the operations of the team - for example, Sato was associated with Honda, Kobayashi with Toyota and Suzuki with Yamaha.

In that situation, you have the conflict that arises from the team wanting to operate in the way they feel is best for them, whereas the engine manufacturer might have rather different ideas - Nakajima comes to mind, with Honda sometimes being very heavy handed in their attempts to make a team run him when they wanted to run a different driver. Whilst not quite so heavy handed, Tsunoda came into the sport via Honda and, as a result, did bring some of the politics of that engine manufacturer with him.

As for Lawson, it's possible he might have a chance at RB next year. We know that both RB drivers are out of contract at the end of the year, and whilst Ricciardo might have benefits for the team in terms of marketability, the ongoing struggles he's having with his form are hurting the team, whilst there are those rumours that suggest Tsunoda may be beginning to become restless at RB. One, or both, of those drivers might be gone by the end of the year, which might create space for Lawson at RB.

[Har1MAS1415]

What is it about Japanese drivers that causes F1 teams to resent having run them?

Tsunoda is hardly the first Japanese driver to have been treated like this.

I liken it to when Briatore said that Antonio Pizzonia was about 95%, and never found the missing 5%. Kobayashi, Sato, Suzuki, Yakomoto... They had great "on their day" but it didn't come quite often enough (what if Toyota remained for 2010 and any of them got a shot?).

Tsunoda is doing great, however, he just doesn't seem to have that edge. What I want to know, is what Lawson has to do to get a shot?

What might also have been an issue is that, in many cases, those drivers were strongly associated with an engine manufacturer that might interfere with the operations of the team - for example, Sato was associated with Honda, Kobayashi with Toyota and Suzuki with Yamaha.

In that situation, you have the conflict that arises from the team wanting to operate in the way they feel is best for them, whereas the engine manufacturer might have rather different ideas - Nakajima comes to mind, with Honda sometimes being very heavy handed in their attempts to make a team run him when they wanted to run a different driver. Whilst not quite so heavy handed, Tsunoda came into the sport via Honda and, as a result, did bring some of the politics of that engine manufacturer with him.

As for Lawson, it's possible he might have a chance at RB next year. We know that both RB drivers are out of contract at the end of the year, and whilst Ricciardo might have benefits for the team in terms of marketability, the ongoing struggles he's having with his form are hurting the team, whilst there are those rumours that suggest Tsunoda may be beginning to become restless at RB. One, or both, of those drivers might be gone by the end of the year, which might create space for Lawson at RB.

In the case of Lawson, probably wait for Perez or Max to leave Red Bull or retire. He's gonna be replacing Danny Ric before too long at the rate things are going.

[Har1MAS1415]

What is it about Japanese drivers that causes F1 teams to resent having run them?

Tsunoda is hardly the first Japanese driver to have been treated like this.

I liken it to when Briatore said that Antonio Pizzonia was about 95%, and never found the missing 5%. Kobayashi, Sato, Suzuki, Yakomoto... They had great "on their day" but it didn't come quite often enough (what if Toyota remained for 2010 and any of them got a shot?).

Tsunoda is doing great, however, he just doesn't seem to have that edge. What I want to know, is what Lawson has to do to get a shot?

What might also have been an issue is that, in many cases, those drivers were strongly associated with an engine manufacturer that might interfere with the operations of the team - for example, Sato was associated with Honda, Kobayashi with Toyota and Suzuki with Yamaha.

In that situation, you have the conflict that arises from the team wanting to operate in the way they feel is best for them, whereas the engine manufacturer might have rather different ideas - Nakajima comes to mind, with Honda sometimes being very heavy handed in their attempts to make a team run him when they wanted to run a different driver. Whilst not quite so heavy handed, Tsunoda came into the sport via Honda and, as a result, did bring some of the politics of that engine manufacturer with him.

Exactly, I was just thinking about how Honda wanted Williams to run Satoru Nakajima but they wouldn't have it so he ended up at Lotus and Honda later switched from Williams to McLaren.

Also, Super Aguri was really only there to extend Takuma Sato's F1 career after Honda lost patience with him at BAR and we all know what happened when what was essentially the Honda B-Team started outperforming the main Honda team.

I always thought Ukyo Katayama was with Yamaha, mainly because they were Tyrrell's engine supplier the whole time he drove for them.

Sorry to go off subject.

[mario]

So, not only is Perez getting a contract extension, it's been confirmed that it's a two year extension (with some suggesting it has the option for further extensions in the future). I was thinking that they would go for the uninspiring choice of renewing his contract, but didn't expect them to agree to a two year deal.

[James1978]

The likes of Gasly, Albon, Kvyat (all of whom Red Bull dispensed with pretty quickly) must be thinking seriously WTF?? Also the junior team rejects who never made it to the senior team like Buemi, Alguersuari and Vergne!!

[Row Man Gross-Gene]

The likes of Gasly, Albon, Kvyat (all of whom Red Bull dispensed with pretty quickly) must be thinking seriously WTF?? Also the junior team rejects who never made it to the senior team like Buemi, Alguersuari and Vergne!!

Oh absolutely! Marko's genius at selecting drivers really comes into focus now. Make an over the top offer to a generational talent (putting a 17-year-old in an F1 car??!!!) and pair him with a much slower driver to over-emphasize that original genius move.

I'm curious how many world championships in other series' Marko's castoffs have won? If it's more than the 3 that Max has won, really brings Marko's hit rate down into perspective.


Edit: In fact, it's at least 7 world championships (I believe) that drivers he's fired have won. If I'm not mistaken, that equals the number of championships drivers he's backed have won! That said, the F1 world championship is more prestigious than those, I'm not saying Buemi or Da Costa are the equal of Max or Seb, but Marko's style of throwing spaghetti against the wall and keeping what sticks is brought into perspective.

[mario]

The likes of Gasly, Albon, Kvyat (all of whom Red Bull dispensed with pretty quickly) must be thinking seriously WTF?? Also the junior team rejects who never made it to the senior team like Buemi, Alguersuari and Vergne!!

Oh absolutely! Marko's genius at selecting drivers really comes into focus now. Make an over the top offer to a generational talent (putting a 17-year-old in an F1 car??!!!) and pair him with a much slower driver to over-emphasize that original genius move.

I'm curious how many world championships in other series' Marko's castoffs have won? If it's more than the 3 that Max has won, really brings Marko's hit rate down into perspective.


Edit: In fact, it's at least 7 world championships (I believe) that drivers he's fired have won. If I'm not mistaken, that equals the number of championships drivers he's backed have won! That said, the F1 world championship is more prestigious than those, I'm not saying Buemi or Da Costa are the equal of Max or Seb, but Marko's style of throwing spaghetti against the wall and keeping what sticks is brought into perspective.

Marko has been justifying the decision on a couple of grounds.

The first reason he gave was that the decision ensures peace and quiet within the team, as the two drivers don't fight each other that much and the continuity of the driver line up makes things easier for them. The second reason is, quite simply, money - according to Marko, the team sells a lot more Perez branded merchandise in Central and Southern America than Verstappen branded merchandise, and it seems they want to hold onto those sales.

That said, there is the question of whether this is a decision that is entirely down to Marko, or whether Horner has taken advantage of Marko's reduced influence within Red Bull to pick the drivers he prefers. There is talk that Horner also wants to extend Ricciardo's contract at RB, and it seems that Ricciardo's marketing potential is a driving factor behind that decision.

[Row Man Gross-Gene]

The first reason he gave was that the decision ensures peace and quiet within the team, as the two drivers don't fight each other that much and the continuity of the driver line up makes things easier for them. The second reason is, quite simply, money - according to Marko, the team sells a lot more Perez branded merchandise in Central and Southern America than Verstappen branded merchandise, and it seems they want to hold onto those sales.

That said, there is the question of whether this is a decision that is entirely down to Marko, or whether Horner has taken advantage of Marko's reduced influence within Red Bull to pick the drivers he prefers. There is talk that Horner also wants to extend Ricciardo's contract at RB, and it seems that Ricciardo's marketing potential is a driving factor behind that decision.

That's fair enough Mario, commercial reasoning is valid and so is team tranquility. It was more of a rant of how they've tended to throw aside drivers in such a callous way. I just don't think Marko's methods can be that smart or revolutionary when he's tossed aside a bunch of (what turns out to have been) very high quality drivers, claiming they couldn't hack it.

[Jarvis]

Yuki Tsunoda to stay as RB driver for 2025 as he extends his contract with RB for another year!

[Har1MAS1415]

Yuki Tsunoda to stay as RB driver for 2025 as he extends his contract with RB for another year!

Well, that settles it.

[Row Man Gross-Gene]

Good.

[Har1MAS1415]

He's going be Team Faenza's longest serving driver since Pierluigi Martini at this rate.