Hungarian Grand Prix starting grid changed hours before race as FIA punish team

Yuki Tsunoda will start the Hungarian Grand Prix from the pit lane after Red Bull made sweeping changes to the Japanese racer's car under Parc Ferme conditions. The under-pressure racer was knocked out in Q1 after a tumultuous run of practice sessions earlier in the weekend.

The 25-year-old was set to line up 16th, but Red Bull changed a number of parts after qualifying, forcing the FIA to step in and issue a punishment in the form of a pit lane start. His RB21 has a new internal combustion engine, turbocharger, MGU-H, MGU-K, and exhaust system for Sunday's Grand Prix. This is good news for four drivers who will gain a place immediately once the lights go out at the Hungaroring. Pierre Gasly, Esteban Ocon, Nico Hulkenberg, and Alex Albon were all eliminated in Q1 alongside Tsunoda, with the Japanese driver in 16th.

Addressing his qualifying woes, Tsunoda said: "It's been a frustrating weekend so far for the team. We've struggled to find pace, and the lack of grip cost us time. My team are trying to find the solution, but we just haven't yet. Personally, I can feel reasonable about my performance in qualifying, I've stayed close to Max all weekend, and that's a positive for myself.

"I didn't make any mistakes in the session, and I only missed out on Q2 by a few milliseconds, which, unfortunately, is how it has been lately. We'll see about tomorrow, it's not easy to overtake here, but anything can happen with mixed conditions expected. All I can do is keep pushing."

Tsunoda wasn't the only Red Bull driver who struggled in Hungary on Saturday. Reigning world champion Max Verstappen scraped through into Q3 and was only eighth fastest in the final part of qualifying. He'll line up behind Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto for the Grand Prix.

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"We didn't seem to find it," Verstappen explained, looking back at Red Bull's overnight set-up changes. "We tried a lot as a team, and unfortunately, nothing really helped our balance.

"It's really difficult to explain how we suddenly just this weekend have a lot of difficulties with the car. Just no grip on the front, in the rear, difficult to balance it out. It's a bit of a mystery at the moment. Just the whole weekend off the pace."

There were other qualifying scalps, too. Kimi Antonelli was knocked out in Q2, capping off another challenging weekend, while seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton was only 12th-fastest. The legendary Brit was self-deprecating in his post-qualifying interviews after watching team-mate Charles Leclerc score a surprise pole position.