Yuki Tsunoda’s big Horner and Marko contact admission in claim for Red Bull seat

Yuki Tsunoda has revealed that he has had no conversations with Helmut Marko and Red Bull team principal Christian Horner over recent weeks as a decision looms on the future of Sergio Perez.

And he has claimed that only Max Verstappen, the reigning three-time World Champion, is kept abreast of Red Bull‘s driver plans.

Yuki Tsunoda: No conversations with Christian Horner and Helmut Marko

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

Despite signing a new two-year contract as recently as last month, Perez is increasingly likely to be dropped by Red Bull during the summer break due to a performance clause contained in his revised deal.

PlanetF1.com understands that Red Bull have the freedom to discard the Mexican driver if he is in excess of 100 points behind Verstappen at the time of the August shutdown, with the gap standing at 141 ahead of this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix.

Red Bull will not be short of options if they decide to part with Perez, with current VCARB drivers Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo, as well as reserve driver Liam Lawson, all available.

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However, PlanetF1.com understands that Tsuonda is not being seriously considered for a promotion despite outperforming veteran team-mate Ricciardo for much of the F1 2024 season.

Speaking to media including PlanetF1.com on Thursday at Spa, Tsunoda revealed that he has had no dialogue with Marko and Horner over a potential graduation to Red Bull over recent weeks.

Asked if he has had any conversations with the pair, he replied: “No.”

Pressed on whether he is disappointed by the lack of contact from Red Bull’s hierarchy, he said:  “I don’t know about other drivers.

“It seems like other drivers don’t have those kind of conversations as well. I don’t know about the driver [Lawson] who is currently not racing now.

“[I just hope they decide] as soon as possible.

“I would like to be in the seat, 100 per cent, but also it’s not I’m good feeling rumours flying around saying: ‘You need to have a good race or whatever, extra pressure.’

“The thing is that I never even get any conversation or any idea about that. I’m just hoping.”

Asked if he has received an explanation from either Marko or Horner over why Red Bull do not seem to be considering him to replace Perez, Tsunoda revealed that only Verstappen is kept in the loop.

And he claimed that his performances in F1 2024 so far should be enough to convince Red Bull to give him a shot.

He said: “I don’t know. At this point, I don’t know if they consider me or maybe they consider me and I don’t know [about it].

“I guess it’s the same for everyone. I don’t think other drivers except Max get any information about that, so probably they’re having conversations in the background.

“Hopefully I’m in the conversation and I feel like I’ve done what I should have done and I’m happy with what I’ve done until today [to convince Red Bull].

“And why should I do even more than that?

“You guys talk about this stuff, talk about the rumors and the Red Bull seat, it’s quite clear also how many points I’ve got compared to other drivers. I’m happy with what I’ve done.

“I just focus now on the things I can control, which is performance and this race.”

Tsunoda revealed that Marko came to him during last month’s Austrian Grand Prix to inform him that the next three races would be important for his future.

However, after a disappointing race in Spielberg the Japanese star assumed Marko was warning him that he could lose his current VCARB spot, rather than earn a promotion to Red Bull.

He said: “He told me in Austria that the next three races would be important for the future, but Austria wasn’t good.

“So I was thinking: ‘OK, maybe he’s talking about my future regarding my Formula 1 seat rather than the Red Bull seat!’

“So I was not really thinking or asking deeply about that.

“And it’s typical of Helmut that if I didn’t perform well for two races, or one race, immediately he comes to you and puts on pressure.

“So it was kind of a usual day for me. But after that, it was quite clear what I did at Silverstone in Hungary.

“Other than that. I haven’t had any conversations.”

Asked directly by PlanetF1.com if he views the Belgian Grand Prix as a crucial weekend to help sway Red Bull’s decision in his favour, Tsunoda reiterated his stance that he has already “proved enough” in F1 2024 to deserve a chance as Verstappen’s team-mate.

He said: “For every driver except Max, all races are critical. I’ve just got used to it and I just do my normal race.

“If you see the previous races since [Bahrain], it’s quite clear how much I’ve improved.

“The amount of Q3 appearances, the amount of points taken at [different] tracks, I think I’ve proved enough.

“Obviously this race will be important as well, but we’ll see how it goes.”

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