Tsunoda ‘feeling more confident’ - beats Verstappen in Qatar SQ

Yuki Tsunoda delivered a surprise in Friday’s Sprint Qualifying in Qatar, outpacing Max Verstappen on pure one lap pace for the first time this season.

And judging by the Japanese driver’s reaction afterward, the breakthrough wasn’t luck but the product of a growing sense of control and confidence inside the RB21.

Tsunoda grabbed a superb fifth on the grid for Saturday’s Sprint, marking his highest qualifying position for Red Bull at a moment when his future with the team appears to be slipping away, with Isack Hadjar tipped to replace him in 2026.

But instead of shrinking under pressure, Tsunoda produced a performance that hinted he has no intention of relinquishing his seat without a good fight.

“So far, it's been a clean race weekend, pretty smooth, no issues in practice and qualifying so far,” Tsunoda said, clearly buoyed by a trouble-free run that contrasted sharply with Verstappen’s set-up struggles.

Confidence Improving - A Driver Transformed

Friday’s breakthrough continued a trend that began in Las Vegas, where Tsunoda had shown promising speed before a tyre-pressure error wiped out his qualifying. In Qatar, with no such missteps, he finally got to show the full version of himself.

“I feel more confidence in qualifying,” he added. “I just have to put it all together, there's three more sessions to go, but it's very important for the team. It's good that both sides of the garage are very focused and we try to give the maximum.

“But for me as well, I'm happy with the car and with my confidence. Obviously, there are some bits to go for tomorrow to find the extra tenths, but I'm excited.”

• Read also: Verstappen left fuming over ‘just shit’ RB21 in Sprint qualifying

Tsunoda’s calm tone belied the significance of the moment – beating Verstappen on merit is rare air for any Red Bull driver, let alone one fighting to prolong his stay in the seat.

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko, who has been both a critic and mentor to Tsunoda, acknowledged the scale of the driver’s progress.

“If you look back to Las Vegas, Yuki was already very close to Max, but we [chose] the wrong tyre pressure that put him out in Q1 and that ruined his race weekend. But his speed was consistently improving,” he told Motorsport.com.

“Of course, he's improving his performance and he's more involved in the technical side.”

With praise from Marko and a confidence surge powering him forward, Tsunoda heads into the Sprint not just as a surprise name near the front – but as a driver redefining expectations at exactly the right moment, although it might all be too little, too late.

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