Red Bull’s talks with Honda over an engine deal to retain its V6 turbo-hybrid powertrains for testing of previous cars running could present a lifeline for Yuki Tsunoda to retain Formula 1 involvement, as he looks set to lose a race drive for 2026.
The team will announce its 2026 driver line-up on Tuesday, but Motorsport.com understands that Isack Hadjar will become Max Verstappen‘s new team-mate at Red Bull Racing, and Arvid Lindblad will be promoted to an F1 seat at Racing Bulls.
This leaves the remaining seat between Tsunoda and Liam Lawson, although a report from Dutch publication De Telegraaf states that Lawson will be retained – leaving Tsunoda without a full-time race seat in 2026. The Japanese driver hinted at this during the race weekend in Qatar by saying he “knew something he couldn’t say yet.”
Honda’s involvement with Tsunoda from a marketing perspective had also become difficult due to Ford’s involvement at Red Bull. Red Bull will embark upon its first year with its own power unit, in conjunction with the American car giant, with both the Red Bull and Racing Bulls teams switching engine suppliers under the new regulations.
The FIA recently mandated that engine manufacturers will supply engines to their former customer teams for TPC testing – crucially, with no price cap. Thus, engine manufacturers can charge whatever they want and significantly increase prices. During the Qatar weekend, Motorsport.com learned that Red Bull is in talks with Honda about a deal for next year.
“We’ve always had a good and fair relationship with Honda. We had a meeting on Friday, and I think we’re on the right track to resolving this issue,” Helmut Marko said in an exclusive interview.
Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / LAT Images via Getty Images
Red Bull wants to finalise the deal with Honda to continue conducting TPC testing next year, which will be important to give Lindblad additional F1 time if necessary – and to allow other talent from the junior programme to get used to F1 equipment when they’re ready.
A key aspect is that the prices engine suppliers charge for TPC testing are not included in the budget cap. Teams like Red Bull could theoretically afford the amount, regardless of how high, as it wouldn’t detract from their development budget.
That said, no team wants to pay the full price, and it’s understood that Red Bull and Honda have been negotiating a mutually acceptable deal for some time.
However, the TPC deal could still mean a reserve role for Tsunoda at both Red Bull teams – including a TPC programme for himself.
Regardless of Tsunoda’s future, it is crucial for Red Bull to be able to complete the additional tests next year, especially since the number of regular test and filming days is very limited – and the Honda deal will be key to that.
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