In Friday’s sprint qualifying at the Qatar Grand Prix, Yuki Tsunoda ended Max Verstappen’s 37-strong unbeaten streak in Formula 1 qualifying against his successive team-mates.
Tsunoda looked rejuvenated, hailing a “clean” and “smooth” weekend thus far and rejoicing that he found “more confidence” in his Red Bull car, which had led to that season high in qualifying – fifth place.
Twenty-four hours later, Tsunoda recorded his 10th Q1 exit out of 26 sessions since joining Red Bull, and the Japanese is baffled as to how such a downturn in form even occurred.
“I have no idea what happened because the lap was pretty tidy,” he said. “Similar to what I had even yesterday [when it was enough for] P5. The car was pretty much the same. We changed one thing but it shouldn't affect that much. Yeah, I have no idea. Suddenly I lost the grip or pace.”
Tsunoda insisted he had made “no errors” and his lack of performance was “strange”, as he was three tenths down on Verstappen; he even branded his lap “pretty good”.
With a mandatory two-stop strategy in the race due to concerns over tyre wear, Tsunoda knows he won’t be able to recover many positions tactically, while the Losail track is notoriously difficult to overtake on, so he will instead focus on taking the best possible start.
He will need it, as he is set to lose his Red Bull drive and is understood to be fighting Liam Lawson for the second Racing Bulls seat alongside incoming rookie Arvid Lindblad for the 2026 campaign – meaning his F1 career is at risk.
Asked if he could do something on Sunday to change the situation or if it was already decided, Tsunoda retorted: “I mean, I know you guys want a twist and everything, but it's not decided yet.”
A top-seven finish could at least vault him ahead of Lawson in the drivers’ standings, with the New Zealander leading him by 36 points to 32.
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