Yuki Tsunoda has urged Formula 1 teams to "call me" about a 2027 race seat after his strong performance as a stand-in at Zandvoort. Tsunoda lost his place on the grid at the end of last year but jumped in at Racing Bulls last weekend after Liam Lawson was promoted to the main Red Bull team to fill in for the injured Isack Hadjar.
Strong comeback at Zandvoort
Despite having not driven this new generation of F1 cars before, the Japanese racer qualified 12th for the Dutch Grand Prix and just one tenth of a second down on team-mate Arvid Lindblad. He then finished one place ahead of the British teenager in 11th on Sunday, just outside the points.
Even before that race, Tsunoda had declared himself "super happy" with his performance after months on the sidelines and said his bosses were pleased too. And, after the Grand Prix, he made it clear he wants to use this temporary opportunity as a springboard from which to land in a permanent race seat next year.
Tsunoda's plea to teams
He said: "I know what I can do, and I think I pretty much showed also what I can do to most of the paddock. I think the outcome is obviously better always scoring points, but I think I did as much as I can for now. It's definitely better having this opportunity, rather than not having any opportunity, not able to show what I can do with this regulation.
"I think that this was the overall positive, and I think what performance I showed is positive. So, it's up to also my manager, and other teams that have not decided yet on next year's line-up, if they want to have me or not. But they should... Call me, please!"
Backup options and F1 priority
If he cannot land a race seat for next season, it seems a move across the pond could be in Tsunoda's future. Per Racer.com, his manager Diego Menchaca has been trying to land his client a place on the IndyCar grid in 2027 as a backup option having held talks with 'nearly half of the 10 full-time teams'.
Tsunoda made it clear, though, that F1 is still his preferred option, should he have one. He said: "It's not my job to look at that stuff. I completely leave it to my manager, and my job is to just drive fast and that stuff. My mentality is always in Formula 1. My main goal is to always be driving in Formula 1 and have success. That's always there, no matter what.
"But I also don't want to be staying in the garage for two years. I want to drive as well. If there's something potentially happening or I couldn't find a seat for next year, then I'll have to look for other series. But until the moment I hit the track next year, my mentality will always be in Formula 1."
