Tsunoda hails ‘magic lap’ as he takes stunning P5 in Australian Grand Prix Qualifying

Yuki Tsunoda has described his stunning Qualifying effort at the Australian Grand Prix as a “magic lap”.

The Racing Bulls driver will start from an impressive fifth place for Sunday’s race after a last-gasp time in Q3 vaulted him up the order and onto the third row.

While his time was 0.574s off the pole lap of Lando Norris, the Japanese driver was just 0.189s shy of Max Verstappen’s Red Bull in third.

“I can say definitely, it was a magic lap,” said Tsunoda. “I think I was able to put it together as well, the quality of lap was the best of the previous runs of the week so far.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 15: Yuki Tsunoda of Japan driving the (22) Visa Cash App Racing Bulls — Yuki Tsunoda hailed his ‘magic lap’ on his way to P5 in Qualifying

“Also, I got a bit of help from Lando into Turn 9, a bit of a tow, so combined with everything, that laptime came a bit out of nowhere.

“I’m very happy but also, I think just the car pace so far throughout the week was consistently good, so that gave me extra confidence into Qualifying and this happened.

“Huge credit to the team. They’ve worked very hard throughout the off-season and I’m happy now.”

Alongside rookie team mate Isack Hadjar, who qualified 11th, the two Racing Bulls drivers had been consistently in or around the top 10 positions across the three free practice sessions.

‘It was a magic lap!’ – Tsunoda thrilled with P5 in qualifying

What made Tsunoda’s lap more impressive still was that it was achieved with a compromised setup – the team keeping one eye on Sunday’s expected rain.

He revealed: “Actually, in the wet conditions, we were kind of already prepared and we made a bit of a compromise on the setup as well. So even in the rain, I’m feeling pretty confident.

“I’m excited for tomorrow but at the same time, it’s going to be tricky. A bit of excitement. P5, I can’t complain.”