Yuki Tsunoda believes he is ready to step up to the senior Red Bull team should an opportunity arise for the 2025 season.

Tsunoda is in his third season of F1 and is first in line among the Austrian company’s long line of young drivers.

The Japanese is this year the de facto team leader alongside Nyck de Vries following two campaigns alongside Pierre Gasly.

Tsunoda entered F1 with a mighty reputation and quickly proved fast but fragile.

Many of the frailties of his driving have been resolved with a more mature showing last year for Scuderia AlphaTauri.

That prompted team principal Franz Tost to suggest he would be ready to make the step into the senior team for 2025.

“To be honest, I’m really focusing on what we have now in AlphaTauri,” Tsunoda said when asked if he was ready for a Red Bull drive in 2025.

“There’s still lots of things to work on.

“Obviously, I’m happy to hear from him (Tost), especially positive things.

“Being a Formula 1 driver, you always have to be ready when you have a call from a top team.

“In the end, everyone’s ready, it’s just how much you can extract from yourself every race.

“I’ve been feeling ready but at the same time, first of all, I need to improve myself more.”

Red Bull has Max Verstappen under a long-term contract while Sergio Perez last year agreed a new deal that will take him through to the end of next season.

The Austrian company also brought in de Vries with the belief the Formula E champion can be successful in Formula 1, and has a raft of others on its books too.

That includes Daniel Ricciardo and Liam Lawson, who is currently working as test and reserve driver for Red Bull alongside his own racing commitments in Super Formula in Japan.

It leaves Christian Horner spoiled for choice when it comes to 2025 and beyond, and that is before any of the current grid make moves to land what is currently one of the most competitive drives in the sport.