Yuki Tsunoda’s Formula 1 story was supposed to have reached a holding pattern by now – a year on the sidelines, a reserve role secured, and a clear runway toward whatever came next.
Instead, the Japanese driver has found himself hovering in limbo, his future clouded by a contractual wrinkle that even Honda admits it did not fully anticipate.
Contrary to the early assumption that Tsunoda’s 2026 role as a Red Bull reserve was already sewn up, Honda Racing Corporation president Koji Watanabe has confirmed that nothing is signed. Not with Red Bull. Not with Ford. And not, crucially, for 2026.
What was meant to be a pause has become a question mark.
A Partnership at a Crossroads
Tsunoda’s rise has been inseparable from Honda’s backing. From junior categories to his Formula 1 debut in 2021, the Japanese manufacturer has bankrolled and guided his career, leveraging its close technical alliance with Red Bull to keep him on the grid with Racing Bulls.
Even his ill-fated promotion to Red Bull in 2025 carried Honda’s fingerprints.
Now, having lost that seat, Tsunoda is staring at a season without racing – and Honda is staring at a future without Red Bull.
HRC president Koji Watanabe with Yuki Tsunoda at Suzuka last year.
From 2026, Honda will supply Aston Martin, while Red Bull forges ahead with its own power unit project alongside Ford. That shift has complicated Tsunoda’s status, especially as his presumed reserve role turns out to be anything but certain.
Speaking at the Tokyo Auto Salon, Watanabe laid bare the reality behind the scenes.
“Regarding this year’s contract with Tsunoda, negotiations are ongoing, so no specific agreement has been finalised yet,” he confirmed. “This will be discussed in future talks.
“From Honda’s perspective, there’s no problem. The crucial point is how Ford, or rather Red Bull, views the situation.
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“The negotiations are not with Tsunoda himself, but with Red Bull.”
Those words underline the uncomfortable truth: Tsunoda’s fate is obviously no longer in his own hands – nor entirely in Honda’s.
No Aston Martin Safety Net – For Now
With Honda’s attention turning toward Aston Martin, speculation has naturally followed. Could Tsunoda be parachuted into the Silverstone-based outfit as part of the new power unit partnership?
Watanabe was quick to pour cold water on that idea.
“There are no such plans as yet,” he confirmed. “I expect we will continue to coordinate various programmes with Aston Martin, but at this point there is nothing we have agreed upon that says, ‘Let’s do this right now’.
“Therefore, at this point, we will continue to nurture drivers up to F2 within the HFDP, Honda’s own programme, and if any drivers emerge who are capable of driving in F1, we will recommend them to Aston Martin.”
For Tsunoda, that means there is no hidden escape hatch waiting in the wings. No guaranteed Honda-backed lifeline at Aston Martin. Just negotiations, politics, and time ticking away.
As Formula 1 hurtles toward its 2026 reset, Tsunoda – once seen as a long-term Honda standard-bearer – remains stuck between past alliances and an uncertain future, hoping the talks resolve before opportunity slips irretrievably out of reach.
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