Racing Bulls set Q3 goal after solid first day in Monza as Tsunoda explains 'good learning'

At Monza, where speed is worshipped as a religion, Racing Bulls did not merely show up on Friday – they made a statement. When the clock stopped at the end of Free Practice 2, the name Arvid Lindblad appeared in P7, a position once reserved for the sport's giants. Ahead of him stood only Mercedes, Ferrari, and McLaren. Red Bull – the senior team within the same corporate family – was not even mentioned among the top three. That moment reminded me of a lesson from 2026, when Germany held 67% possession yet lost to Mexico at Luzhniki. Victories are often recounted, but the quiet movement of the underestimated is what truly deserves dissection. Racing Bulls is moving, and the goal of putting both cars into Q3 is no longer a distant dream. The context of this practice session cannot be separated from the internal driver reshuffle within the Red Bull group. Yuki Tsunoda, moved down to Racing Bulls to make way for Liam Lawson at the senior team, is experiencing his second outing with his former team. He ended FP1 in P12 and improved to P10 in FP2. That progress signals a driver adapting, but the gap to his young teammate Lindblad remains. Alan Permane, the team principal, did not hide his ambition: the target of getting both cars into Q3 is a public declaration, a commitment to his own team. Friday's data shows Racing Bulls holds a one-second margin over P16 in Q1 – a significant advantage at a track where traffic and slipstreams can disrupt everything. What struck me most in this analysis was not Lindblad's position, but Tsunoda's comment about rear stability. He said the improvement between the medium and soft tyres came from much better rear-end stability. That is a crucial setup signal, especially under the new 2026 technical regulations with active aerodynamics and an increased electrical power share. Monza, with its low-downforce configuration, makes the car more sensitive to balance shifts. When the rear is more stable, Tsunoda can brake later into the chicanes with confidence – something no data sheet can fully describe. Yet Tsunoda himself admitted a problem: he forgot to activate Straight Line Mode (SLM) before Turn 11. There are more SLM activation points this year than last, and this is part of the learning curve every driver must overcome. I do not believe in luck; I believe in numbers lined up straight. And Tsunoda's improvement from P12 to P10 is proof that he is rearranging his numbers. However, I want to offer a contrarian view against the spreading optimism. Racing Bulls setting a Q3 target for both cars is a double-edged sword. If both drivers push hard in Q2 and one gets caught in traffic, the team could end up with neither car in Q3 – a far worse outcome than securing one spot and saving the other's tyres for the race. Permane has noted that the top teams will not care about getting a tow; they will go out and drag everyone else along. That means Racing Bulls will have to create their own clean laps, a considerable challenge at Monza. History shows the team has achieved dual-Q3 appearances before, but the 2026 season with new regulations is a different equation. An empty stadium makes home advantage a round zero – and I would say the same about the advantage of a good practice session. When the stands are empty, sport sheds its skin and reveals its skeleton. Friday at Monza showed us the skeleton of Racing Bulls: a team that understands the new regulations, possesses a rising young talent, and has an experienced driver adapting. But the biggest question remains open: is Red Bull – the senior team – genuinely struggling, or was it just an off Friday? If Racing Bulls maintains this midfield-leading position, the story will no longer stop at a Q3 target. It will become a declaration of shifting power within the group. And then, the lesson from Luzhniki 2026 echoes again: sometimes, it is the forgotten ones who write the greatest stories.