{"id":32430,"date":"2025-04-05T08:08:23","date_gmt":"2025-04-05T12:08:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/?p=32430"},"modified":"2025-04-05T10:57:04","modified_gmt":"2025-04-05T14:57:04","slug":"christian-horner-comes-to-tsunodas-defence-post-qualifying","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/04\/05\/christian-horner-comes-to-tsunodas-defence-post-qualifying\/","title":{"rendered":"Christian Horner comes to Tsunoda’s defence post-qualifying"},"content":{"rendered":"

Max Verstappen put together a sensational lap to claim Pole Position in Suzuka. On the opposite side of the Red Bull garage, Yuki Tsunoda<\/a> was knocked out in Q2 after a promising start to qualifying.<\/p>\n

For obvious reasons, the irony of Tsunoda finishing behind Lawson is grabbing plenty of attention post-session.<\/p>\n

However, team principal Christian Horner<\/a> has come to the defence of his latest signing.<\/p>\n

Horner: Yuki Tsunoda was fast enough for the top 10<\/h2>\n

The beginning of qualifying started very well for Tsunoda, who put himself comfortably in Q2 with his banker lap.<\/p>\n

With gaps across the field so close, the 24-year-old was capable of making a push for the top 10.<\/p>\n

However, a mistake in his final Q2 run effectively put an end to his session.<\/p>\n

This error undid a lot of Tsunoda’s progress throughout the weekend, where he showed legitimately impressive pace.<\/p>\n

With Verstappen<\/a> on Pole Position, his important to Red Bull’s success has been once again underlined.<\/p>\n

The Dutchman has an unmatched ability to extract every thousandth from the car, something arguably nobody else in F1 can replicate.<\/p>\n

Because of this, Tsunoda can be forgiven for failing to replicate his teammate’s efforts.<\/p>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a>