Ever since Yuki Tsunoda took over as Red Bull’s second driver at the Japanese Grand Prix, replacing Liam Lawson, things have not gone too well. The struggles that Sergio Perez and Lawson faced have been hitting Tsunoda as well, leading to consistent Q1 and Q2 exits followed by a lack of points finishes. He's last among drivers who have run the full schedule in the driver standings.
At first, it seemed like Tsunoda’s career with Red Bull would come to a close at the end of the 2025 season, coinciding with the departure of Honda as engine manufacturer. However, the dynamic on his future has seemingly shifted more towards his favor with the arrival of team principal Laurent Mekies, someone with whom Tsunoda had a good working relationship while at RB.
With the Japanese driver snubbed of a seat at Cadillac, it appeared the only valid options were maintaining his seat at Red Bull for one more season or falling back to a reserve driver role elsewhere. But now the 25-year-old could have one more lifeline as he looks to extend his tenure in F1.
Flavio Briatore, Alpine may appreciate Tsunoda’s experience
The Alpine team boss has reportedly considered signing Tsunoda for the 2026 season to replace Franco Colapinto, who remains scoreless after replacing the scoreless Jack Doohan alongside Pierre Gasly at Imola.
Alpine may be Tsunoda's only option if Red Bull opt to drop him, so it could simply come down to whether they view his addition as a win-win.
The idea of pairing Tsunoda with Gasly does not pose much concern, as the duo had a good dynamic when they spent two seasons as teammates at RB (then AlphaTauri). Ideally, Briatore would look to create a driver pairing that would not result in the dynamic created when Gasly and Esteban Ocon were together in prior seasons.
Though Colapinto is still in the mix to retain his seat and Doohan is also being considered for a return, Tsunoda is well ahead of both in terms of experience and ability. Signing the Japanese driver makes more sense and feeds into Briatore’s aspirations of becoming a competitor amongst the existing top four teams.