Christian Horner declares Honda ‘refused’ to bid for Yuki Tsunoda for Red Bull promotion

Honda played no role in trying to convince Red Bull to promote Yuki Tsunoda to replace Sergio Perez instead of Liam Lawson.


Christian Horner declares Honda ‘refused’ to bid for Yuki Tsunoda for Red Bull promotion

Christian Horner and Yuki Tsunoda (via IMAGO)

Red Bull sidelined Yuki Tsunoda in favor of Liam Lawson to replace Sergio Perez next year. This decision sparked controversy as the Japanese driver has given consistent results at RB since 2021. Now, Team Principal Christian Horner has revealed that there was no backing from Honda for Tsunoda.

The Japanese driver has strong ties with Honda. This was the reason for the 24-year-old joining Red Bull’s junior program few years ago. Christian Horner affirmed that the carmaker would’ve loved to see Yuki Tsunoda at Milton Keynes. However, the Japanese auto giant refused to be part of discussions over the team’s driver line-up.

I’m sure that they [Honda] would have loved Yuki to have been in the car in the last year of their agreement with Red Bull Racing.

Christian Horner said, as reported by RacingNews365
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Horner insisted that Honda has always let Red Bull make the final call on drivers for its two teams. As such, the Austrian giant faced no influence over its decision. Christian Horner has now even questioned the need to keep Yuki Tsunoda at RB.

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But Honda have always refused to get involved in the driver lineups, they’ve always left that choice down to the team.

Christian Horner added

Helmut Marko pinpoints Yuki Tsunoda’s flaw after Red Bull snub

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko asserted that Tsunoda remains a quick driver, but lacks consistency. The 81-year-old recalled the Japanese driver’s two accidents during the Mexican GP this year. Marko emphasized that Yuki Tsunoda should be more consistent in such situations.

Yuki Tsunoda (via IMAGO)
Yuki Tsunoda (via IMAGO)

I think Yuki can be really fast, but it’s not very consistent.

Helmut Marko told Inside Line F1 Podcast

The Japanese driver’s future in F1 remains uncertain beyond 2025. Tsunoda could potentially look at a move to Honda’s future partner Aston Martin in 2026. However, it is unclear if the Silverstone-based team would have a spot for the 24-year-old.