After receiving the latest-spec floor on his Red Bull RB21, Yuki Tsunoda was delighted to qualify seventh in Belgium – his first appearance in Q3 since the Miami GP weekend more than two months ago.
He held on to that position at the belated start of the race but then, apparently inexplicably, pitted for slick tyres a lap later than team-mate Max Verstappen, who had stopped at the end of lap 12. That cost Tsunoda track position and, crucially, left him stuck behind the Alpine of Pierre Gasly, who had qualified 13th but was among the first competitors to stop – with the Frenchman coming in at the end of lap 11.
