"Yuki Tsunoda is being noticed on the driver market" - Red Bull chief reveals rival interest in Tsunoda

Yuki Tsunoda is impressing the F1 paddock with his 2024 performances, showing great speed in both qualifying and race trim. After crossing the line in P7 at the Australian GP, the Japanese driver now has a fair points representation of his early form.

Over the last twelve months, Tsunoda has faced off against three different teammates. Against all three, often in spite of narratives suggesting otherwise, the 23-year-old has asserted himself at RB.

Ricciardo's arrival to the Racing Bulls was highly anticipated, with the Australian widely tipped as a future teammate for Max Verstappen. Whilst nothing is off the cards for 2025, the 8-time race winner has little chance of joining Red Bull if his teammate continues to outperform him so regularly.

Writing for his column on SpeedWeek, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko praised Tsunoda's 2024 efforts:

"Yui is currently driving at a very high level - and remains error-free. Franz Tost and I always believed in him. His speed was always beyond doubt for us," Marko explained.

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Yuki Tsunoda attracts interest from rival F1 teams

At last weekend's Australian GP, Christian Horner suggested that Red Bull might look beyond their driver pool for next year's driver line-up.

Although this obviously does not disqualify the Japanese driver from contention, it shows that he would do well to gauge interest elsewhere on the grid.

This is Tsunoda's fourth year at RB, so it seems logical to evaluate whether other teams are open to offering him a contract. According to Helmut Marko, there is interest in the youngster's services elsewhere:

"Now things are working, and Yuki is being noticed on the driver market," Marko wrote on SpeedWeek.

"His seventh place in Melbourne is important for the Racing Bulls. It's incredibly hard for the bottom five teams to finish in the points."

Looking at the F1 2024 standings, Tsunoda sits in 11th place. Considering the clear gap between the top five and bottom five teams, RB could not have asked much more from him.

His priority will be to continue his current form and deliver results. A key strength of his 2024 campaign so far has been qualifying, having secured P11, P9 and P8 grid slots in Bahrain, Jeddah and Australia, respectively.

This not only positions him well to capitalise on retirements ahead, but it should also serve him well in Sprint Race weekends.

Although it is unclear which teams are enquiring about Tsunoda's services, his role in the F1 driver market will be fascinating to observe. It is no secret that several drivers are on expiring contracts, creating the potential for significant movement.

Next weekend is the Japanese GP, a home race that could underline the #22 car's strong opening phase.