Christian Horner hailed the progress made by Yuki Tsunoda – but warned the AlphaTauri ace that he faces a tough task dislodging Sergio Perez from his Red Bull seat.
The Japanese racer flattered to deceive in his first Formula 1 season, scoring points on his debut only to struggle to build on that. Despite some costly crashes and difficulties containing his emotion in the cockpit, AlphaTauri chief Franz Tost saw enough in Tsunoda to give him a third campaign.
And, so far, he has taken the opportunity with both hands. Despite having probably the slowest car on the grid, he has scored a point in two of the first four races and was unfortunate not to do the same in the other two outings.
Even after just the first two races, in both of which Tsunoda finished 11th, Tost had seen enough from the 22-year-old to predict big things in his future. He said: "Yuki drove two extremely strong races so far. I am very happy with him. It's not his fault that we aren't competitive yet.
"As far as I know, Sergio Perez still has a contract for next year. All I can say is that Yuki is on the right track. He has improved in every respect. But I think he should drive at AlphaTauri again in 2024. In 2025, I think he will finally be ready for Red Bull."
Following that, former F1 racer Ralf Schumacher called upon Red Bull to consider axing Perez and named the Japanese racer, alongside Daniel Ricciardo, as his potential successor. But team principal Horner has been more cautious about Tsunoda's future and, understandably, chose to stand by his current driver pairing.
"I don't think he's at that level yet, but he's making great progress," said Horner of the Japanese racer. "We're seeing that he's maturing as a driver. He certainly has speed, and I think as he gains experience, I'm sure he's going to become more rounded. He's driven some strong races so far this year."
Regarding a possible Red Bull future for Tsunoda, he added: "We're not short of options for the team. We have a commitment with both of our drivers to the end of 2024. But the best thing he can do is perform at a very high level in the AlphaTauri."
Tsunoda is pleased with his own progress and recently declared himself ready for a promotion whenever Red Bull come calling. "I've been feeling ready but, at the same time, first of all, I need to improve myself more," he said.
