Red Bull advisor Dr. Helmut Marko has revealed that Yuki Tsunoda is a “contender” to remain at AlphaTauri next season, with his current deal set to expire at the end of 2023.
This season has been Tsunoda’s best by some margin, thanks to the 23-year-old having grown in maturity and stature.
He’s shown consistent pace all year despite having arguably the worst car on the grid, proven by the fact that AlphaTauri are currently last in the Constructors’ Championship.
Tsunoda is in his third season with Red Bull’s sister team despite his young age, with some starting to wonder what’s next for the Japanese driver.
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According to Marko, Tsunoda’s future “depends” on the rest of his results this campaign; however, talks are “already” taking place with the team’s power unit supplier, Honda.
Tsunoda has a close relationship with Honda, who are keen to take the driver with them to Aston Martin in 2026.
“Of course, that depends on the further results,” Marko said speaking to Austrian outlet Kleine Zeitung. “But there are already discussions with our partner Honda. You can assume that it will happen if you take this year’s performances.”
“He is originally from our school and in Formula 1 he is doing very well. We’re very happy to see him succeeding. But talking about the future, we still have three years to go.”
He added: “It’s too early for us to say what will happen. I don’t think it’s the time to talk about this. But we’re hoping that he will become a candidate. But it’s up to the team to make the final decision.”
The expectation then, is that Tsunoda will remain at the Faenza-based team in 2024, although it’s unsure who’ll be alongside him.
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Tsunoda currently has Daniel Ricciardo as his team-mate following the firing of Nyck de Vries; however, junior driver Liam Lawson is the favourite to be promoted to AlphaTauri for next season.
De Vries was comfortably out-classed by Tsunoda, who finished ahead of the Dutch driver eight times across 10 races.
Ricciardo is a much more challenging opponent for the young driver, with the pair having each finished ahead of one another once.