Snubbed by Red Bull in favour of Liam Lawson, Alan Permane says a “target” of his this season is to assist Yuki Tsunoda in finding that “1 per cent” that could make him a Red Bull driver.
After months of speculation, Red Bull made the call in December to drop Sergio Perez from their F1 2025 line-up after the Mexican’s troubled campaign.
Yuki Tsunoda should set his sights on a 2025 Red Bull seat
Scoring just 152 points to Max Verstappen’s 437, Perez’s deficit to his team-mate was bigger than anyone else within the top four teams and cost Red Bull dearly as they fell to third in the Constructors’ Championship.
But rather than go with the more experienced Tsunoda, Red Bull promoted Liam Lawson with team principal Christian Horner explaining the decision to talkSPORT.
“I think that what we felt in Liam in what he’s achieved in such a short space of time, the trajectory that he’s on looks really promising,” he said. “We believe that Liam has got the right characteristics, the right strength of character to deal with the pressure that comes with being Max Verstappen’s team-mate.”
He did, however, add: “That doesn’t rule Yuki out for the future.
So much so that VCARB’s racing director Alan Permane says his target for the new season is to help Tsunoda achieve that dream.
“Hopefully, if I can bring him on 1 per cent to help him out I’d be super happy,” Permane told Motorsport.com. “Nothing would make me happier than to get him to a level where he can move to the top team, into Red Bull.
“Quite rightly that should be his target and it should be our target. One of the reasons for this team – and it’s not the only reason anymore – is to develop talent. If we can turn him into a race winner, fantastic.”
According to Permane, Tsunoda still has scope to grow as a driver and says there was a time he underestimated Tsunoda’s ability.
“I must admit, I was guilty of that coming in. I don’t know if he’s taken a step up this year because I don’t have anything to compare against,” he explained.
“Of course, there are inconsistencies he needs to sharpen up, plenty of areas he needs to polish. But he’s what, 24? He’s a young kid, still, so he’s got plenty of time to do that. And he knows what he needs to work on.
“You can hear and see him getting frustrated with himself when he makes those errors but the speed is there, of that there’s no doubt. He’s very quick and his feedback is excellent, his English is excellent. I don’t know if that has been a limitation in the past but I don’t see any limitation there at all and he’s a joy to work with, he really is.”
However, if VCARB and Tsunoda don’t secure a Red Bull promotion for the 24-year-old, Horner says Red Bull will probably then say goodbye to the driver.
“We’re acutely aware that if we’re not able to provide an opportunity for Yuki [at Red Bull] in all honesty this year, does it [keeping him on] make sense?” he said.
“You can’t have a driver in the support team for five years. You can’t always be the bridesmaid. You’ve either got to let them go at that point or look at something different.”
Tsunoda will have a rookie team-mate alongside him in the F1 2025 championship with Isack Hadjar stepping up from Formula 2.
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