Red Bull chief Helmut Marko issues ‘hands off’ warning as F1 rival eyes driver swoop.

Red Bull have countless great races in their history, too many to give them all the F1 seats for next year, but they won’t let any of them go without a fight.

Helmut Marko has warned Aston Martin that they will have to pay if they want to keep Yuki Tsunoda from the Red Bull team.

The Japanese driver has driven for sister team AlphaTauri since making his Formula 1 debut in 2021. And he is now under contract for a fourth season, after signing a new deal ahead of the above race home at Suzuka last month.

Daniel Ricciardo has also had his contract extended, meaning Liam Lawson will remain a reserve driver despite an impressive F1 debut as the injured Australian’s replacement. But, despite its wealth of talent, Red Bull has no intention of letting anything slip through its fingers reluctantly.

Tsunoda has been heavily linked with a future move to Aston Martin. He has been supported by Honda, which is currently partnered with Red Bull, but this alliance will end in two years when the Japanese carmaker begins its partnership with the Silverstone-based team.

Honda racing team director Koji Watanabe has made it clear that he would welcome Aston Martin’s acquisition of Tsunoda in the future. There is currently no space left in the team with veteran Fernando Alonso still delivering and Lance Stroll also on the books.

But recently there has been speculation about the Canadian’s future. Stroll’s position is generally considered safe because his billionaire father, Lawrence, owns the racing team, but questions have been raised about his desire to continue racing in F1.

Tsunoda could be on the list of potential recruits if there is a position at Aston Martin. But if this happens while the 23-year-old is still under contract with Red Bull, Marko has made it clear that financial compensation will be necessary.

“Tsunoda is under contract with us,” the team’s long-time advisor told F1 Insider. “If Aston Martin is interested in him next year, they must first reach an agreement with us.”

Rumors linking him to Aston Martin made Tsunoda worried about what his current bosses might think. “I don’t want Red Bull to misunderstand something – like the fact that I’m currently only focused on Aston Martin or whatever,” he said. I’m at AlphaTauri and I’ve been at Red Bull since I was 18 years old. I’m focusing on playing for Red Bull. Not for Aston Martin or anything like that. I hope [Red Bull] doesn’t misunderstand these things and I hope they really take my future seriously. If I have better results than other riders, I hope they will consider me more.”