Tsunoda splits with managers amid missed Purple Bull promotion

Yuki Tsunoda reshuffled his administration group amid dropping out on a Purple Bull promotion to Liam Lawson for the 2025 Method 1 marketing campaign. 

The Racing Bulls driver was beforehand managed by Mario Miyakawa and Luis Alvarez, earlier than parting methods with each shortly after the 2024 season led to December.

Tsunoda is now being managed by Mexican Diego Menchaca, who contested European single-seaters till 2018 earlier than switching to sportscars.

He has competed within the Worldwide GT Open for the previous two years having completed runner-up in 2023, however from 2025 he’ll focus solely on driver administration as he additionally works with F3’s Noah Stromsted. 

“I’m not working [with] Mario anymore, and Luis as nicely,” Tsunoda confirmed to Motorsport.com. “I am actually pleased with Diego.

“He is motivated, undoubtedly. As soon as we determined to work collectively, he instantly went to Helmut’s [Marko, Red Bull advisor] workplace to construct a relationship. That form of effort, I actually admire – and clearly, Helmut did too.

“They have already got an excellent relationship, which is an effective begin. However in the long run, a very powerful factor is to carry out on observe, which is able to make Diego’s life simpler.”

The 2025 F1 season can be Tsunoda’s fifth within the collection, all coming with Purple Bull’s sister squad which has raced underneath the AlphaTauri, RB and now Racing Bulls guises for the reason that 24-year-old’s debut.

Purple Bull has by no means significantly thought of Tsunoda for a promotion to its essential squad, regardless of outperforming his previous three team-mates in Nyck de Vries, Daniel Ricciardo and Lawson.

The choice to advertise Lawson for 2025 sparked combined reactions within the paddock, however the 23-year-old was lengthy tipped to switch Sergio Perez as Max Verstappen’s team-mate even earlier than the Mexican’s departure was formally confirmed.

So Tsunoda will now accomplice rookie Isack Hadjar at Racing Bulls and he’ll begin the marketing campaign because the Italian outfit’s clear primary driver after ending a career-best twelfth within the 2024 standings.

“Yuki final yr did a step I feel none of us was anticipating,” mentioned Racing Bulls group boss Laurent Mekies throughout 2025 pre-season testing in Bahrain.

“[He] did an enormous step ahead by way of pace, by way of maturity, by way of technical suggestions – and I feel if there’s one other step like that in Yuki this yr, it should be actually, actually fascinating!

“So by way of what would an excellent yr appear to be for him, it’s to see one other step of the identical magnitude of what we have seen final yr.”

Tsunoda’s future past 2025, nonetheless, stays unsure. Chatting with the media shortly after Lawson’s promotion was introduced, Horner questioned whether or not it “is sensible” to maintain Tsunoda within the Purple Bull household if he isn’t in rivalry for a senior group seat this yr.

If Purple Bull releases him on the finish of the season, Tsunoda’s choices seem restricted. He was in talks with Haas final yr and was additionally being thought of by Sauber, however Purple Bull opted to increase his contract for one more season.

Since then, each groups have locked of their driver line-ups for the subsequent few years, leaving Tsunoda with few apparent options ought to he discover himself out of a seat for 2026.

Images from the Bahrain Pre-Season Testing – Day 3