Yuki Tsunoda won’t lose sleep over missing out on a promotion to Red Bull Racing, but the Visa Cash App RB driver wants “more commitment” from the energy drink company regarding his future.
Tsunoda’s hopes of moving from Faenza to Milton Keynes were dashed this week with Red Bull’s announcement of Sergio Perez’s two-year contract extension.
While Tsunoda, Daniel Ricciardo, and Liam Lawson all aspired to join the championship winning team, the Japanese charger, thanks to his strong performances, was undeniably the front-runner in the RB trio.
Remaining another year at RB certainly isn’t a worst-case scenario for the 24-year-old, but Tsunoda insists he wants a clearer picture from his employer regarding his future options.
"I would like to see more commitment from the contract," he said, speaking ahead of this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix.
"Obviously I'm already committed with Red Bull a lot and hopefully I can have a bit more commitment from them.
"There's an ongoing discussion and I want to make sure first of all we're on the same page with Red Bull after that we'll see. But I'm happy with RB.
"Even these two years [Perez] has to still perform and in this kind of environment, anything can happen. So, congratulations to him and other than that, for me, I just keep focusing on what I'm doing and just proving myself.
"I just have to grow more and at the same time, hopefully, Red Bull will understand more or see more of my progress and my potential performance and maybe [it] can change in the future."
Tsunoda said that he felt buoyed by the interest he has received from rival teams and which he believes provides him with more leverage or alternative opportunities in the future.
"The good thing is that the other teams are starting to get interested in me," he added "I also got a couple of options from the others, which is growing.
"It's a good thing that I'm able to grow my value as well, especially like this interesting drivers' market.
"But first of all, my priority is Red Bull. I want to make sure we're on the same page because Red Bull is part of my life so far and without them, I wouldn't achieve this much."
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