Lando Norris snatched pole position in Melbourne (Image: Getty)
was jubilant after securing pole position for the on Saturday, but the driver was also popular in another team’s garage. The Brit gave a significant tow to on his final flying lap, helping the driver storm to a fifth-place starting grid slot. Tsunoda’s result was the icing on the cake for Racing Bulls, who were the positive surprise of the first qualifying session of the 2025 season.
The Japanese star’s team-mate, Isack Hadjar, was the highest-qualifying rookie in P11, narrowly missing out on a debut Q3 appearance. After celebrating his qualifying result on the radio, Tsunoda added: “Nice tow from Lando a little bit.” His race engineer, Ernesto Desiderio, followed up: “Yeah, yeah. I saw it (laughs). That was very, very nice from him. We will give him an iced coffee as well.”
Tsunoda acknowledged the driver’s contribution again in his post-race interview. “I can say definitely that it was a magic lap. I think I was able to put it all together as well. The quality of the lap was the best out of previous rounds throughout the week so far. But also, I got a bit of help from Lando until Turn Nine with the tow.
“So I mean, combined with everything, that lap time came out a bit of nowhere. So very happy, but also I think the car pace so far throughout the week was consistently good, so that gives me extra confidence into the qualifying, and I think this happened so. Huge credit to the team that worked very, very hard over the whole season and I’m happy now.”
Yuki Tsunoda qualified fifth on Saturday following a remarkable lap (Image: Getty)
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Asked to look ahead to Sunday’s Grand Prix, Tsunoda assessed his chances. “You know, actually, even in the rain conditions, we were kind of already prepared, and we made a bit of compromise with the setup as well.
“So even in a rain condition, actually, I’m feeling pretty confident. So I’m excited for tomorrow. But at the same time, it is going to be a tricky [race], so a bit of excitement but a bit of thrilling [ahead].”
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Tsunoda’s marvellous performance will have tasted even sweeter after watching Liam Lawson fail to reach Q2. The New Zealander, whose weekend was hamstrung by an engine problem in FP3, made mistakes on two of his laps and qualified 18th on the grid.
Racing Bulls’ star driver was overlooked as ’s replacement at over the winter and is now in a career year ahead of the expiry of his contract. With Cadillac joining the series in 2026 and Honda, his long-time backers, taking over power unit duties with Aston Martin, doors could open if he enjoys a strong season in 2025.