As he battles New Zealand’s Liam Lawson for a 2026 Formula One seat, Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda has been linked to a switch to the American IndyCar series.
Tsunoda, 25, is part of the equation that sees himself, Lawson, Isack Hadjar and Red Bull junior Arvid Lindblad fighting for three seats on next year’s grid.
Only Max Verstappen is confirmed at Red Bull next year, signed through to 2028, and is expected to be partnered by Hadjar, who is the next best driver on the organisation’s books so far in his rookie season.
And with Red Bull understood to be eager to promote 18-year-old Lindblad after one season of Formula Two, Lawson and Tsunoda have effectively been left in a shootout for that final place to partner the junior at Racing Bulls.
However, Tsunoda’s place at Red Bull has - for the most part - always been conditional on engine supplier Honda. But, with the Japanese manufacturer linking with Aston Martin next year, Tsunoda’s place is perhaps the least secure of the four contenders.
The Herald understands that Honda have paid Red Bull an eight-figure sum annually, believed to be in the region of US$10m to see Tsunoda on the Formula One grid.
Earlier this year, when Lawson was demoted by Red Bull after just two grands prix, the Herald understands that payment was doubled by Honda, to see Tsunoda take his place for the manufacturer’s home race at Suzuka.
But that link to Honda could both cost Tsunoda his place in Formula One, as well as seal his future in IndyCar.
According to American journalist Tony Donohue, Tsunoda is being eyed to join IndyCar - where Honda supply the engines for five of the 12 teams cars.
In particular, Dale Coyne Racing looms as Tsunoda’s potential destination, with current driver Rinus VeeKay leaving to join Juncos Hollinger Racing.
As first reported by the Herald, that would leave Lawson in position to take the final seat at Racing Bulls, and act as a mentor figure to Lindblad.
Red Bull had outlined the deadline of this week’s Mexican Grand Prix as when both teams’ driver lineups would be decided.
However, both team principal Laurent Mekies and senior adviser Dr Helmut Marko have confirmed Red Bull will now wait to make that decision after the Qatar Grand Prix at the start of December.
It is understood that with Qatar being the season’s penultimate race, the following week’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will serve as a farewell to Honda, and potentially Tsunoda with it.
Tsunoda is no stranger to IndyCar. In November last year, he tested Scott Dixon’s Chip Ganassi car, powered by Honda at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
On top of that, Lawson and Hadjar both completed promotional work for Ford during last week’s US Grand Prix in Austin.
Ford will take the place of Honda next year in developing Red Bull’s power units, leading to questions over why Lawson would be used in promotional material, only to be discarded before 2026.
Should the switch be finalised, Tsunoda would join the likes of Romain Grosjean, Marcus Ericsson and Takuma Sato as former Formula One drivers competing in IndyCar.
Alex Powell is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016.