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Speculation surrounding the second Red Bull seat has risen in recent weekends with many touted as a replacement, including Yuki Tsunoda.
Yuki Tsunoda has been driving for Red Bull’s sister team, Visa Cash App RB, formerly known as Alpha Tauri, since the 2021 season. The Japanese driver was partnered with a more experienced teammate Pierre Gasly for two seasons. However, now, the 24-year-old seems to have assumed the role of first driver as he has out-performed his current teammate, Daniel Ricciardo.
‘Never rule anything out’
Red Bull Racing has extended Sergio Perez’s contract for two more years. With him scoring an underwhelming amount of 15 points in the last six races, speculation about his place in the Milton Keynes-based outfit has risen.
Many names have appeared in the talks about a replacement for Perez. One of the drivers mentioned is Ricciardo. The Australian has previously driven for Red Bull in the past, and now there’s the possibility he could return.
But, despite Tsunoda having had a stronger performance than his teammate throughout their pairing, his name has been mentioned less.
Carlos Sainz also appeared in the equation after being dropped by Ferrari. Though this rumour has faded as the season progressed due to other offers from various teams for the Spaniard.
Another possible prospect is Liam Lawson. Lawson stepped in to cover for an injured Ricciardo for five Grands Prix and is Red Bull’s reserve driver.
However, Christian Horner, Team Principal of Red Bull has made it clear that Tsunoda is still an option. When questioned by RacingNews365 about Tsunoda, Horner admitted:
“You can never rule anything out.
“We have options for multiple years on him because we believe he’s a talent.
“He’s a Red Bull Racing driver. He’s on a Red Bull Racing contract. You never know. Maybe he’ll get a test one day. You never know.”
Points in the bag!! You love to see it ??? pic.twitter.com/JKhiFXXxhc
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Not a rookie anymore
Even if Tsunoda has not been mentioned a lot, it is noticeable how much he has progressed as a driver. He has been delivering better results and has had a solid season, bringing in crucial points for the team.
Touching on this, Horner praised the Japanese driver and his performance at Silverstone, saying: “I think Yuki’s doing a good job.
“He got another point, he’s stringing weekends together, he’s doing a good job.
“I think he’s benefited from having Daniel [Ricciardo] alongside him. He’ll openly admit that he’s learned from Daniel, in terms of having an experienced driver and how they interact with the team and the engineers.
“Yuki’s not a rookie anymore. He’s got quite a lot of experience now under his belt, and you can see he’s putting that to good use – and in difficult conditions like today, I thought he drove a very good race.”
Even if a direct move to Red Bull is still not on the table, Tsunoda has proven he should not be ruled out. As the season progresses, the fate of Red Bull’s second seat is expected to be revealed if Perez does not show improvement.
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