Red Bull reserve driver Yuki Tsunoda is yet to sign a new contract with long-term backer Honda ahead of the F1 2026 season, it has emerged.<\/p>\n
Tsunoda has been demoted to a reserve role for this season with Isack Hadjar promoted as Max Verstappen\u2019s new teammate for F1 2026.<\/p>\n
Yuki Tsunoda yet to sign new Honda contract as Red Bull-Ford partnership begins<\/p>\n
Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google<\/a> to your favourites list for news you can trust<\/p>\n Red Bull\u2019s technical partnership with Honda, Tsunoda\u2019s long-term backer, concluded at the end of last season, with the Aston Martin team becoming Honda\u2019s new partner from 2026.<\/p>\n Despite Honda switching allegiance ahead of the new season, Tsunoda has remained at Red Bull, which has entered a new partnership with Ford.<\/p>\n Red Bull and sister team Racing Bulls will become the first teams to reveal their F1 2026 race liveries later today (Thursday) in a Ford season-launch event in Detroit.<\/p>\n Yuki Tsunoda expected to target F1 2027 return after Red Bull demotion<\/p>\n F1 driver contracts: What is the contract status of every driver on the F1 2026 grid?<\/a><\/p>\n F1 2027 driver line-up: Which drivers are already confirmed for the 2027 grid?<\/a><\/p>\n Koji Watanabe, the president of the Honda Racing Corporation, has revealed that the manufacturer remains in talks with Red Bull over the nature of its relationship with Tsunoda in 2026.<\/p>\n And he insisted that Honda has \u201cno problem\u201d with Tsunoda remaining attached to Red Bull despite the arrival of Ford.<\/p>\n Watanabe told Motorsport.com<\/a>: \u201cRegarding this year\u2019s contract with Tsunoda, negotiations are ongoing so no specific agreement has been finalised yet.<\/p>\n \u201cThis will be discussed in future talks.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom Honda\u2019s perspective, there\u2019s no problem. The crucial point is how Ford, or rather Red Bull, views the situation.<\/p>\n \u201cDepending on the terms Red Bull proposes, the scope within which Honda can utilise Tsunoda will change\u2026 I believe that scenario is possible.<\/p>\n \u201cThe negotiations are not with Tsunoda himself, but with Red Bull.\u201d<\/p>\n Watanabe\u2019s comments come after Tsunoda addressed his relationship with Honda after learning the news of his demotion ahead of the 2025 season finale in Abu Dhabi.<\/p>\n He told PlanetF1.com and other media outlets: \u201cI appreciate their support over the years and let\u2019s see how it goes in the future.<\/p>\n \u201cI appreciate a lot their support and a lot of people as well.<\/p>\n \u201cNext year is going to be a different direction we\u2019re going to take, but I\u2019ll still be around and I guess we\u2019ll see how we can collaborate with each other.\u201d<\/p>\n Tsunoda is expected to pursue opportunities to return to F1 on a full-time basis in 2027.<\/p>\n Haas was among the teams linked with a move to Tsunoda in the summer of 2024 before Red Bull moved to extend the Japanese driver\u2019s contract.<\/p>\n Haas has since entered a technical partnership with rival Japanese brand Toyota, which could prove a complication if the team renews its interest in the Honda-affiliated Tsunoda during the 2026 season.<\/p>\n Ayao Komatsu, the Tokyo-born Haas team principal, refused to rule out a move for Tsunoda<\/a> at the end of last season, insisting that the team\u2019s focus is on positioning itself to attract the strongest possible driver pairing for 2027.<\/p>\n Asked if he would be interested in working with Tsunoda at some stage, Komatsu told PlanetF1.com and other media outlets:\u00a0\u201cI can\u2019t comment on his future. Obviously he\u2019s not our driver.<\/p>\n \u201c2027? I think we have to focus on \u201926 with our drivers and with brand-new regulations.<\/p>\n \u201cI think most of the drivers knew that, obviously, as they wanted to see how \u201926 pans out and they wanted to pick a better team for \u201927.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s why the driver market is going to be so open for \u201927.<\/p>\n \u201cSo to put ourselves in a better position, our best position, the important thing is we\u2019ve got to have a competitive \u201926 season.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s our focus.\u201d<\/p>\n Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon will compete for Haas this season having finished just three points apart in the 2025 standings.<\/p>\n Additional reporting by Mat Coch and Thomas Maher<\/p>\n Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp<\/a> to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.<\/p>\n You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel<\/a> for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!<\/p>\n