Tsunoda – Albon, a third line full of surprises in Melbourne

Every season, the first qualifying round of the year always offers a few surprises, good or bad. Among the bad ones, we can mention Liam Lawson and Andrea Kimi Antonelli, both eliminated in Q1 despite the potential of their car, or even disappointment Ferrari, with the two SF-25s which will only start from the fourth row... but among the good surprises of these qualifications in Melbourne, it is impossible not to mention Yuki tsunoda andAlexander albon ! The Japanese and Thai drivers were masterful this Saturday in Australia, securing 5th and 6th place respectively in Q3. The two Asian drivers will therefore occupy the third row on Sunday, for the first Grand Prix of the season: a great performance with cars expected to be in the middle of the pack.

Yuki Tsunoda's impressive stats from the qualifier #AustralianGP 🤯🇦🇺

With his P5, the Japanese achieved the second best qualification of his career this morning in Melbourne! The season is off to a strong start for him💥 pic.twitter.com/CCe7oCVN12

— CANAL+ F1® (@CanalplusF1) March 15, 2025

Yuki Tsunoda was perhaps the more surprising of the two: although the Racing Bulls had looked comfortable at the start of the weekend at Albert Park, few people expected the Japanese driver to climb to 5th place in Q3, ahead of the Ferraris and just behind George Russell. “It was a magical ride! I managed to put everything together, it was the best ride of the whole weekend., said the 24-year-old pilot at the F1 microphone. I also had a little help from Lando [Norris] until Turn 9, where he gave me a bit of slipstream. All that combined, it made this lap time come out of nowhere! I'm very happy. I think the pace of the car is consistently good, it gave me a confidence boost going into qualifying. A big thank you to the team, who worked really hard during the off-season."

Williams and Albon take their 2024 revenge

If we also waited for the Williams in Q3, as its performances over one lap during the winter tests in Bahrain and Free Practice were promising, it was difficult to imagine seeing one of the FW47s qualify so high, in 6th place. And while we could have expected a Carlos Sainz, it was Alexander Albon who was the best Williams driver this Saturday, on the flying lap exercise. A year after the chassis setbacks, where Logan sargeant had to give up his seat to the Thai driver before the race due to a lack of spare parts, the British team took its revenge and placed its two cars in the Top 10, with an excellent performance from Alex Albon.

Huge effort @williamsracing well done team!!! So happy with that one 🤝 P6 on the grid, feeling good about tomorrow! pic.twitter.com/QTSIdbGBf5

- Alex Albon (@alex_albon) March 15, 2025

“In FP1 we had this brake issue and since then we were a bit behind, as if we had a session to spare to get our confidence up and into the rhythm for the weekend. In qualifying the feeling was good but we were struggling with the tyres getting warm but at the end of the last session we managed it, explained Alexander Albon, all smiles. Honestly, to say that we were able to experiment with different things, knowing that we had the pace to try different things, is quite new for me. It's great to be in front of the Ferraris and Yuki did an impressive lap too. It's a great first time. After a long winter, when you compare where we were last year to where we are this year, it's a big step up. (…) It's a totally different car compared to last year's car.

Tsunoda already ready for the rain

With such strong starting positions, Yuki Tsunoda and Alexander Albon will have a golden opportunity to score big points on Sunday in Melbourne, in the first race of the season. However, they will certainly have to contend with a new factor: rain, which is forecast for the Australian GP. Racing Bulls has no major concerns: "We're already prepared [for wet conditions] in a certain way. We've made some compromises on the setup so even if it rains, I feel pretty confident, revealed Yuki TsunodaI'm looking forward to tomorrow, but at the same time it's going to be very complicated. A little bit of excitement but a little bit of apprehension... but with 5th place, I can't complain! All that remains is to translate this sensational performance into Sunday's race. With the two Ferraris behind and numerous contenders for points, Yuki Tsunoda and Alexander Albon will have their work cut out for them to score some points.

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