A poor qualifying session for the new Red Bull driver shouldn't count Yuki Tsunoda out of the game at the Japanese Grand Prix.

So far, so good. Verstappen posted the fifth-fastest time during Friday’s first practice session, with a lap of 1:29.065. Tsunoda was just behind him in sixth, a little over a tenth off Verstappen’s time with a lap of 1:29.

Yuki Tsunoda finally has his promotion at Red Bull. He was elevated last week and Liam Lawson was demoted to Red Bull’s second team — Racing Bulls — after failing to score points in the season’s first two races.