Tsunoda wants “more commitment from Red Bull” after 2025 F1 snub

On Tuesday, Red Bull announced it had re-signed Sergio Perez on a two-year deal to remain alongside Max Verstappen until the end of the 2026 season.

Red Bull’s decision to stick with Perez is setting further pieces in motion on the driver market, with Ferrari’s departing Carlos Sainz now facing a choice between Williams and Audi.

OPINION: The dangers of Red Bull re-signing Perez

But it also affects Red Bull’s wider roster of drivers, including RB‘s Tsunoda, Daniel Ricciardo and Liam Lawson.

Out of the three, Tsunoda’s stand-out 2024 performances made him the most obvious candidate for promotion, but Perez’s two-year extension means the Japanese’s wait continues as he is set for at least a fifth season with Red Bull’s sister team in 2025.

While Tsunoda said he was “not in a rush” to get promoted and was happy enough to stay put for the time being, he also wanted to see “more commitment” from Red Bull regarding his future options.

“Obviously I’m already committed with Red Bull a lot and hopefully I can have a bit more commitment from them,” Tsunoda said.

“There’s an ongoing discussion and I want to make sure first of all we’re on the same page with Red Bull after that we’ll see. But I’m happy with RB.

“Even these two years [Perez] has to still perform and in this kind of environment, anything can happen. So, congratulations to him. For me, I just keep focusing on what I’m doing and just proving myself.

“I just have to grow more and, at the same time, hopefully, Red Bull will understand more or see more of my progress and my potential performance and maybe [it] can change in the future.”

Tsunoda said it was reassuring to see that he has received interest from rival teams in the paddock in recent weeks and months, giving him potentially more options in the future if he needs to switch to a plan B.

“The good thing is that the other teams are starting to get interested in me,” he added. “I also got a couple of options from the others, which is growing.

“It’s a good thing that I’m able to grow my value as well, especially like this interesting drivers’ market.

“But first of all, my priority is Red Bull. I want to make sure we’re on the same page because Red Bull is part of my life so far and, without them, I wouldn’t achieve this much.”