Tsunoda, eyes on 2027: Haas and Alpine two options to return to the starting line-up

Bench forced Yuki Tsunoda, together with his management, is looking around. In 2026 the 25-year-old Japanese driver will have to remain on the bench after Red Bull relegated him to reserve at the end of a disastrous season spent alongside Max Verstappen, deciding not to even grant him a further test in Racing Bulls. The #22’s career is therefore at a crossroads: if Tsunoda still wants to have a future in the Circus he will have to try to take advantage of this season of stoppage to agree with another team that guarantees him a seat in 2027. The recent history of F1 presents several stories of this kind: Esteban Ocon, Alex Albon, Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg are all examples of drivers who had to spend at least an entire year away from GPs before returning to the starting grid. Two options on the table Regardless of the relationship with Honda – which ‘bred’ Tsunoda and which from this year will be Aston Martin’s power unit, thus opening a potential ‘green’ window for Yuki, as difficult as it is to imagine at the moment – there are two other teams that looking to the near future could be interested in the services of the Japanese driver, at least according to the Japanese media: Haas and Alpine. The American team – managed by Ayao Komatsu, Tsunoda’s compatriot – could lose Ollie Bearman at the end of 2026 if Ferrari deems the time ripe to promote the Englishman in red, perhaps in place of Lewis Hamilton. In this case, however, the contraindication could be represented by Haas’s increasingly close partnership with Toyota. Would the other reference brand from the country of the Rising Sun be willing to ‘save’ the career of a rider who has long been supported by Honda? The position of the Enstone team is different, which from this year will no longer be powered by Renault engines but will switch to using Mercedes power units. If Pierre Gasly’s seat is firmly in place until the end of the 2028 season, Franco Colapinto’s situation is different: the Argentine ended the 2025 World Cup without points. Briatore wanted to confirm it, but now the appeal tests are over. A negative 2026 would mark the end of Colapinto’s career with the team. At this point Tsunoda could represent an experienced alternative, but he would have to compete for his place with the Estonian Paul Aron, four years younger than the former Red Bull and who grew up in the Alpine Academy. It will certainly take a lot of ‘lobbying’ work on the part of Tsunoda’s management to be able to bring him back to an F1 grid.