
If Yuki Tsunoda and his new management were hoping to receive a helping hand from Honda as Tsunoda builds a case to remain in Formula 1, the mood music coming from HQ isn’t promising.
As a member of Honda’s driver programme, Tsunoda was fast-tracked through the European junior single-seater ladder, making his F1 debut in 2021 with the team then known as AlphaTauri. At the time it was politically expedient for Red Bull to take a Honda-supported driver since it was trying to keep the manufacturer engaged in F1 after an expensive spend to reach competitiveness – and much bad PR during its abortive comeback with McLaren.