Yuki Tsunoda is convinced he should get his chance at Red Bull Racing next year, saying he has shown what it takes to be eligible for promotion to the first team, even if another year at RB F1 seems wait for it.
“Compared to what I did this year, it’s clear that I should have a chance” Tsunoda said. “But I don't know, it's up to them. It's Formula 1, it's also one of the most political sports, and anything can happen.”
“I'm sure the last race here is very important. But for me, I feel like every race has been very important so far. Because from the first race, if I hadn't beaten Daniel [Ricciardo]I would be the person sitting on the couch right now.”
However, the Japanese is preparing not to be promoted: “I'd be surprised, but looking back, I wouldn't really be. Let's see who drives that seat. Depending on the driver, I might be surprised, but… I don't know. There are a lot of rumors and there are It's hard to predict what they're thinking.”
Tsunoda reveals Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner told him he “kept an eye” on its performance, and Red Bull will be able to evaluate it during the end-of-year tests, because Tsunoda will ride in the RB20.
“Every race has been important, I'm just going to focus on my performance. It's testing, so I'm going to hope that I can perform well and reach the level that they want, and it will be up to them. I could have done better in a few races, but compared to previous seasons, it was my best.”
“I scored almost double the points [par rapport à l’autre voiture] and I was regularly in front of my teammate. They trusted me and I gave feedback to develop the car and move the team forward, and I really took a step forward on those things.”
The driver would like to stay with Red Bull after 2025, when Honda joins Aston Martin, but he knows that it will depend on his leaders: “In any case, I like Red Bull and I'm happy to continue with them, but it depends on what they think. It always depends on what they think.”
Tsunoda also confirms that he has no say in the matter: “To be honest, I don't really know what they want. But as a driver, I can't continue to rely on them. Especially since there has been a lot of discussion. so it's always good to have something, an option.”
“But so far, I'm not necessarily trying to find it, to be honest. The current situation, I'm not saying… It's not always a very bad situation right now. It depends, I think, about the car I will drive next year and how the season will go next year.”
According to him, his links with Honda have nothing to do with the lack of luck at Red Bull: “I don't think the reason why they didn't want to put me in the Red Bull or whatever is out of the Honda stuff with Aston, to be honest, from my point of view. Otherwise it doesn't matter. It doesn't really make sense.”
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