Yuki Tsunoda hints at positive momentum with Red Bull after Zandvoort qualifying

Yuki Tsunoda has expressed optimism despite his outing at the Dutch Grand Prix qualifying. The 25-year-old detailed how he felt largely in control in the car despite his Q2 elimination at the Zandvoort circuit.

The Japanese driver, who has witnessed his season suffer a nose-dive since his promotion to the Red Bull Racing outfit, detailed how he felt the confidence in the car, something he had often stated he hadn't felt in a while. Following the conclusion of his qualifying, Tsunoda stated (via the Race):

"I was expecting more. Honestly the confidence I had in the car was pretty good, and I was able to control the car more than ever at any other grand prix. So to be honest, it doesn’t really stack up with the feeling I had in the car and the lap time."

The 12th place qualifying position for Yuki Tsunoda was his best for the Red Bull team since the seventh place he achieved at the Belgian Grand Prix. The former Racing Bulls driver, however, faces the daunting task of trying to finish in the points, a feat he has not achieved since the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

On the other side of the Red Bull garage, teammate Max Verstappen qualified in third place, two-tenths off the pace of pole-sitter Oscar Piastri.

Yuki Tsunoda speaks about his hard work through the Dutch GP weekend

Yuki Tsunoda also touched on his hard work through the Dutch Grand Prix weekend. The Japanese driver detailed how he has worked closely with his engineers and has avoided any mistakes throughout the weekend.

The 25-year-old also stressed how pleased he was with his lap time in qualifying despite his second-round elimination.

"It’s very strange, very strange. Honestly, I didn’t make any mistakes. I was also working hard quite a lot, gaining every single millisecond through every single corner, and also in how I progressed and processed through the weekend with the engineers. So I’m happy with it. But it didn’t really show much in the lap time in qualifying."

While Yuki Tsunoda appeared to be impressed by his lap time through the Dutch Grand Prix qualifying, other Red Bull factory team drivers, Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson, advanced to the final round of qualifying. Hadjar recorded his best starting position for the season so far after finishing Q3 in fourth place, while Lawson, the driver Tsunoda replaced at Red Bull, finished his session in P8.

Shifting focus to the race, Yuki Tsunoda will be aiming to finish in the points at the Zandvoort circuit, a feat he has not been able to achieve since his venture into Formula 1 in the 2021 season. His best finishing position at the track remains the P15 he achieved during the 2023 edition of the race.