Yuki Tsunoda, an unexpected passage to Q3 in Bahrain: "In Free Practice, I was nowhere!"

Yuki tsunoda in Q3 in Bahrain: this is an almost unexpected result, as the pace displayed by the Japanese driver since the start of the weekend was insignificant on the Sakhir circuit. Transparent during Free Practice, the driver Red Bull However, he managed to get his RB21 working during qualifying. He will start 10th in the Bahrain Grand Prix. I made a big mistake at turn 10 on my last lap, confided the Japanese. But I'm happy with this result because the car wasn't easy. Even for Max [Verstappen], seventh in qualifying, it's not usual so I'm satisfied even if, obviously, as a driver, you would always like to do better." 

Tsunoda is still learning

This is the first time this season that both Red Bulls have reached Q3. While Max Verstappen's presence is a constant, the second driver had not yet managed to reach the top 10 in a qualifying session in 2025. Yuki Tsunoda has already done better than his predecessor, Liam Lawson.

« It's been a roller coaster ride since the beginning of the week. There are so many ups and downs, said the Japanese about his performance behind the wheel of the Red Bull. If you look at my pace in Free Practice, I was nowhere. I'm always looking for the most optimized window possible to exploit my car. In this car the window is really narrow, I'm constantly fighting to find it but I'm not rushing to be honest, it's only my second race at Red Bull, there's good progress so far so I'll just keep doing what I'm doing."

As the first driver to take the second RB21 into Q3 this season, Yuki Tsunoda has increased his chances of securing his first points with the Austrian team. Join us on Sunday at 17:00 PM (French time) for the Bahrain Grand Prix.

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