Yuki Tsunoda thrives with upgraded Red Bull, secures P7 in Belgian GP qualifying

Yuki Tsunoda Secures Career-Best Qualifying for Red Bull at Belgian Grand Prix

SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium — Yuki Tsunoda delivered his strongest qualifying performance yet for Red Bull Racing, securing seventh on the grid at the Belgian Grand Prix. The Japanese driver credited a last-minute upgrade to his car and praised the team for its efforts, as he outperformed expectations in a competitive field.

Tsunoda, who had struggled to break into the top 10 in both the sprint qualifying and the sprint race earlier in the weekend, showcased significant improvement on Saturday. The turning point came just before the main Grand Prix qualifying session, when Red Bull fitted Tsunoda's car with an upgraded floor—a move that had not been planned prior to the event.

"I'm happy with it," Tsunoda said after qualifying. "Also, the team did a good job to bring me the upgrades just before qualifying. That was big enough to be in this position. Certainly, I feel much better."

Tsunoda’s Progress with the Upgraded Car

Since taking over for Liam Lawson early in the season, Tsunoda has found it challenging to consistently compete with teammate Max Verstappen. Verstappen, who is running the full suite of Red Bull upgrades, won Saturday's sprint race and will start Sunday’s race from fourth. However, Tsunoda’s performance with the newly upgraded car offers a promising sign for the Japanese driver and the team.

Before the weekend, Tsunoda had anticipated being behind Verstappen in terms of development updates but felt the new floor was a game-changer.

"Bit more grip! Literally," Tsunoda explained when asked about the difference the upgrade made. "We saw already on the paper how much difference we had [to Verstappen]... Considering the difference I had in terms of delta lap time between Max and myself, it wasn't that huge. I knew already within myself and the engineering group we are in the right direction to improve the way we want. I'm happy that I proved it."

Expounding on how the car handled with the new floor, Tsunoda added:

"Generally, it’s just a bit more grip... Before, it never followed my inputs. This one handled like... you can be aggressive with it."

Team Principal Mekies Reflects on Upgrade Decision

New Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies, who stepped into the role just two weeks ago to replace veteran boss Christian Horner, expressed satisfaction with Tsunoda’s progress. Mekies, who has worked closely with Tsunoda both last year and in the early part of 2025, detailed the decision to upgrade the car despite limited part availability.

"We upgraded his car just before qualifying as we are always pushing to the edge on our car parts quantity," Mekies told F1 TV. "But we decided to take the risk to upgrade his car, so that's why you may have seen we were nearly a bit late to go out in qualifying."

Aims for Sunday and Season Challenges

This weekend’s qualifying effort is a bright spot in what has been an otherwise inconsistent debut season for Tsunoda at Red Bull. He has only scored points twice in Sunday races so far: finishing 10th in both Miami and Imola. Since then, finishes of 17th, 13th, 12th, 16th, and 15th have muddied his record. On Saturday, he managed 11th in the sprint race.

Tsunoda will now aim to convert his P7 starting position into a strong finish in Sunday’s main event, as he looks to climb the championship standings and prove himself as a capable second driver alongside the dominant Verstappen. For now, the 25-year-old is relishing a moment of progress as he adapts further to life at the grid’s sharp end.

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