Barely three months ago, Yuki Tsunoda’s window to drive for Red Bull Racing in Formula One appeared to have closed. Despite putting forward a strong case through the 2024 season for its sister team, RB, Red Bull passed over Tsunoda when replacing Sergio Pérez. Instead, it promoted Tsunoda’s teammate Liam Lawson into the seat.

Formula 1 saw its first major driver change of the season courtesy of Red Bull Racing, when the team dropped Liam Lawson and replaced him with Yuki Tsunoda to partner current world driver's champion Max Verstappen.

That is the belief of Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko, who says the influence of engine partners Honda was not “decisive” in the decision to promote Tsunoda. Yuki Tsunoda transf