Why Yuki Tsunoda’s Next Move Could Be to America’s Top IndyCar Team

Yuki Tsunoda’s path back to a full-time Formula 1 seat has hit a dead end. After being pushed into a reserve role for 2026—replaced by Isack Hadjar—the Japanese driver finds himself locked out of a grid with nearly no openings. But that doesn’t mean his career is over. A new report from GPblog reveals that Tsunoda’s team is actively exploring a big-money shift to the IndyCar series in the United States.

The key to this move lies in his ties to Honda. The last realistic F1 option was Haas, but the team is looking for a Japanese driver with Toyota backing—a non-starter for Tsunoda, whose entire career has been funded by Honda. Crossing that corporate divide is nearly impossible in Japanese motorsport culture.

In IndyCar, however, Honda is one of just two engine suppliers, giving Tsunoda serious bargaining power. The report names Chip Ganassi Racing—the powerhouse that just won the championship with Alex Palou—as a prime target. If veteran Scott Dixon retires soon, a Honda-backed Tsunoda could slide directly into a top-tier seat.

This isn’t uncharted territory. Takuma Sato followed the same playbook: he took his Honda backing from a frustrating F1 stint and turned it into two Indianapolis 500 wins. In IndyCar’s spec-chassis format, where the cars are much more equal, Tsunoda could stop fighting for 14th place in a compromised machine and start racing for wins again.

For a driver with his speed and a manufacturer eager to keep him racing, America might be the smartest—and most rewarding—escape route available.