How Tsunoda played a key role in Verstappen's exceptional pole in Saudi Arabia

09:53, 20 Apr

byOlly Darcy

Max Verstappen was a whopping nine-tenths faster than his teammate Yuki Tsunoda in the final part of the qualifying in Saudi Arabia. A margin that's too large within the same team. Yet, Red Bull Racing will look back with some satisfaction at Tsunoda's performance, as he played a significant role in Verstappen's pole lap.

Several factors played a role in what seemed impossible until Saturday evening. Of course, there was the call from Verstappen's race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, to send Verstappen out with more fuel than usual for his Q3 run, also on already used tyres.

This allowed Verstappen to set a benchmark, making him just a fraction faster than Oscar Piastri. Then Verstappen came in for a new set of softs, with which he set the fastest time in the last seconds.

As the last of the top drivers, Verstappen benefited from the continuous evolution of the circuit, which became faster with every minute. Additionally, Verstappen had the luck of Lando Norris's crash, which caused the session to be paused for some time. As a result, the asphalt temperature dropped, which was to the RB21's advantage.

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Finally, Verstappen received some help from his teammate Tsunoda, who gave him a tow in the first sector, which turned out to be the crucial sector, granting the Dutchman extra top speed and allowing him to grab a few hundredths over his competitors Piastri, and also George Russell.

Ultimately, the circumstances fell in Verstappen's favour, but that should not take anything away from the Red Bull driver. It was his immense commitment, flying close to the walls of the Jeddah street circuit and cutting over the kerbs, that ensured he took a pole nobody had thought possible just a few hours earlier. Not least Verstappen himself.

This article was written in collaboration with Ludo van Denderen