The ongoing speculation about Sergio Pérez’s job security continues ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix.
And now one of the drivers in the mix at Red Bull has thrown his hat into the ring.
Speaking ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix Yuki Tsunoda, who recently signed a contract extension of his own at Visa Cash App RB F1 Team, made his case for a spot alongside Max Verstappen should Red Bull make a change.
“Yeah. If I’m not ready, I wouldn’t have been able to announce next season at least for even VCARB,” said Tsunoda when speaking with the media on Thursday. “Obviously, I’m feeling ready, compared to the last three years, to fight against top teams, higher positions, even with Max or whatever.”
Asked directly if he felt he was ready for a seat at Red Bull, Tsunoda replied simply: “Yeah.”
Tsunoda was also asked about the speculation that it could be Liam Lawson sliding into Pérez’s seat, leaping from a reserve role with both Red Bull and VCARB into one of the most coveted seats in the sport. Tsunoda conceded that in his mind at least, that would be “weird.”
“If they choose Liam, that would be weird. But I mean, for me at least… I don’t think so,” said Tsunoda. “For sure, Liam did a really good job when he drove for the team, but I think I did more than that. We’ll see how it goes. In the end, they know how to manage drivers.”
Lawson stepped into a role with AlphaTauri — now VCARB — last season when the team sacked Nyck de Vries ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix, replacing him with Daniel Ricciardo. When Ricciardo suffered an injury at the Dutch Grand Prix it was Lawson’s turn, and he drove in five different races for the team.
Over that stretch he finished in the points once, delivering a P9 for AlphaTauri at the Singapore Grand Prix. Those two points were the only scored by the team, Tsunoda included, during Lawson’s five-race stint.
Ultimately, Tsunoda knows the decision is in the team’s hands, and that there is no sign Red Bull is rushing anything.
“But in the end, they are the ones who are going to decide and it’s not a thing I can control. So I’m just focusing on what I have to do in the next two races,” said Tsunoda.
“Checo, they announce it two races before, a race before, and Checo might perform really, really well, and if a driver’s performing well they don’t have reason to change driver,” added the VCARB driver. “In the end, what they are doing for sure is a good thing for Checo because they don’t want to create any pressure and that’s definitely fair. Also for myself, they want me to focus on what I’m doing right now. We don’t have serious talks and conversation yet.”
On the season Tsunoda has 20 of VCARB’s 31 points, as he has outscored teammate Ricciardo 20-11 on the season. While Ricciardo’s best finish in a Grand Prix this year was an eighth-place finish at the Canadian Grand Prix — he also finished fourth in the F1 Sprint Race in Miami — Tsunoda has a pair of P7 results on the campaign, coming in Australia and Miami.
