RB CEO Peter Bayer recently talked about Yuki Tsunoda's prospects of getting the Red Bull Racing seat. He explained what the Japanese driver needed to do to increase his chances of heading into the top Austrian team.
The driver seat situation at Red Bull has been in the spotlight for quite some time now. Ever since Sergio Perez experienced a dip in performance in 2023, several reports speculated how the team could replace the Mexican with one of the two drivers in their B team, AlphaTauri (currently RB). One of the top candidates to join Red Bull was RB driver, Yuki Tsunoda.
The Japanese driver has been with RB ever since he joined F1 in 2021 and has been trying to perform at his highest level, to get a chance to race in Red Bull.
Recently, however, Peter Bayer quoted Helmut Marko's words that Yuki Tsunoda needs to maintain his consistency to get a seat in Red Bull. He echoed Marko's German proverb 'A swallow does not make a summer' and explained that only a few consistent performances would not guarantee Tsunoda's promotion to Red Bull.
"Helmut [Marko, Red Bull's motorsport advisor] said it himself, in German you say 'a swallow doesn't make a summer'. What it means is that if Yuki keeps racing on this level consistently, he will be considered for a seat in Red Bull Racing," Bayer told Motorsport.com.
Bayer however also mentioned that if Tsunoda needs another year to showcase his consistency, then RB would consider it and offer him another season.
"That's ultimately exactly our mission and the mission we've been given by the shareholders, and if that means that he needs another season next to a very strong Daniel, that could be an option," he added.
Yuki Tsunoda admits he had not spoken to Red Bull about a potential promotion yet
Yuki Tsunoda recently stated that he has not yet discussed his future with Red Bull or his intention to leave the team's umbrella. Speaking exclusively to Sportskeeda, he explained that, as a driver, he would prefer to spend as much time as possible in the fastest car and team, which is Red Bull at the moment. Later on, he admitted that he hadn't discussed his future with the defending world champions.
“I mean obviously as a driver you always want to be in a good car, the best car as much as possible, and currently Red Bull has that best car throughout the grid. Obviously, If I can be one day in a Red Bull, that will be great, that one especially. But the truth is I haven’t really spoken anything with them at all about the seat," Tsunoda said.
He later added that he was happy to work with RB and praised them for their recent performance bump.
"So yeah that's the truth and I'm quite happy with the VCARB as well, they are performing very well recently,” he added.
As of now, Yuki Tsunoda continues to drive for RB and has scored 22 points with them in the drivers' championship table.