The Red Bull gamble which boosted Tsunoda in Belgian GP qualifying

Red Bull has handed Yuki Tsunoda a welcome boost to help turn his Formula 1 season around by upgrading him to the latest floor, with the Japanese driver qualifying seventh at the Belgian Grand Prix.

Like drivers before him, Tsunoda has been struggling to gel with the difficult RB21 since taking over from Liam Lawson at April’s Japanese GP.

Tsunoda’s calamitous points tally of seven in 10 races, compared to Verstappen’s 137 over the same period, has been a huge source of frustration at Red Bull as it languishes in fourth place in the constructors’ championship with one hand tied behind its back.

The Japanese driver’s search for stability and momentum received a huge hit in Imola, where he crashed in qualifying and wrote off a new floor and other key components, which has set him back on specification compared to Verstappen ever since, as Red Bull has had to walk a tightrope of producing just the right amount of spare parts and prioritise Verstappen even more.

Tsunoda is still out of step with several parts in Spa compared to his team-mate, but with the Belgian GP’s sprint event out of the way Red Bull made a late decision to give the 25-year-old a spare floor before grand prix qualifying. It’s a decision which is not without risk, as damage in qualifying would have likely led to a parc ferme breach and another step back next week in Budapest.

But armed with the latest floor version, Tsunoda finally reached Q3 again, taking his best Red Bull grid spot in seventh, three tenths behind Verstappen. While under normal circumstances it is not a result for the erstwhile dominant team to cheer too loudly, Red Bull’s spare parts gamble is a clear show of support that Tsunoda was grateful for as he gears up for his 100th grand prix start.

“Since we went into the session with a completely different car, there were definitely some challenging aspects, but honestly, I was happy to have the upgrade,” Tsunoda said. “F1 cars nowadays are tuned very precisely right up until the final moments, and the mechanics really gave it their all. They managed to get it ready when normally they wouldn’t have made it in time for qualifying. That effort alone means a lot to me.”

“I do feel like I could’ve gone a bit further, but I know we have more bits coming. They probably won’t arrive immediately, but with them I hope we’ll be able to consistently score big points.”

Tsunoda felt the upgrade made the difference between reaching Q3 or missing out and further confirmed his assertion that he had already been building momentum in one-lap performance, even if the results haven’t shown it.

“It was a much more enjoyable session than previous races, big thanks to the team,” he told Sky Sports F1. “The upgrade was definitely a big step, which we knew already; big enough to be in a position that’s a bit different to other races.

“On paper, at least we knew that we were [going] in the right direction. The gap was getting closer and closer. I’m happy that I’m able to prove it. I just have to finish off with a nice points spot, which is the most important thing.”

Speaking about the being reunited with Mekies, who is known to be a big supporter of Tsunoda after witnessing his Racing Bulls performances first-hand, he said: “Yeah, it was funny because when I was at Racing Bulls, when I was always [making it to] Q3 from Q2, he always smiled at me from the pitwall and showing me that happy emotion. And exactly the same thing happened today as well. He smiled at me and showed that I did a good job. That was definitely a nice flashback from the old times.”

Commenting about Tsunoda’s performance to F1 TV, Mekies said: “For Yuki, it was a very, very good step forward through the weekend, so it’s good to see him in Q3. Finishing there, I’m sure will give him a good boost in confidence.

“We upgraded his car just before qualifying as we are always pushing to the edge on our car parts quantity, but we decided to take the risk to upgrade his car. That’s why you may have seen we were nearly a bit late to go out in qualifying, but it was worth the effort from everyone. And certainly it helped in supporting his performance to get to a very, very good level.”