Honda Wants Japanese Driver To Be Successful And 'They Don't Care Where' Says Tsunoda

Saturday, 30 December 2023 at 03:00

Yuki Tsunoda addressed the rumors suggesting he might join Aston Martin from season 2026 onwards when the team starts collaborating with Honda.

Honda, the Japanese car manufacturing company, played an important role in Yuki Tsunoda getting his seat in AlphaTauri in seasons 2021-2023.

Tsunoda was criticized for being in F1 thanks to Honda. However, he has shown incredible progress throughout his three years in the sport and outperformed all of his three teammates in 2023, including Daniel Ricciardo.

AlphaTauri is owned by Red Bull, and both Red Bull Racing and its sister team have been getting Power Units from Honda after they ended their collaboration with Renault.

As Red Bull decided to produce its own Power Units from season 2026, Honda made a new partnership with the Aston Martin F1 team to supply them with PUs from 2026 onwards.

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As Honda had a heavy influence on Tsunoda's career in F1, it was rumored he might be joining Aston Martin once the team enters into its new partnership.

These rumors have been addressed by both Helmut Marko and Tsunoda himself, both of whom said the Japanese driver's priority is to race with the Red Bull family.

Tsunoda's contract with AlphaTauri lasts until the end of the 2024 season as of the time of writing this article, and he did not want any misunderstandings with his team. He also said about the rumors:

"I am not happy with it, because it's not true, and I don't know the conversations [Aston Martin] are having with Honda - who still supply the engine."

The 23-year-old mentioned the goal for Honda is to have a successful Japanese driver and the car manufacturing company does not care whether it is with them.

"But for Honda, what they are saying as long as one day a Japanese driver can be successful, they don't care where I go."

Tsunoda's goal is to get to Red Bull Racing. Being part of the Red Bull family, his chances are not slim, but the competition for the seat is immense. Do you think Red Bull will consider Tsunoda over Ricciardo if it comes down to these two drivers?