As Max Verstappen slips to fourth place in qualifying, Red Bull says it has upped its downforce levels anticipating a wet Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday

Yuki Tsunoda advanced to Q3 for qualifying for only the second time since joining Red Bull Racing earlier this year. A last-minute push by new team principal Laurent Mekies led to upgrades on the second Red Bull shortly before Tsunoda qualified seventh.

Mekies received a surprise call from Red Bull executives Oliver Mintzlaff and Helmut Marko just hours before the news was made public. “I got a call a few hours before you guys were made aware,” Mekies told reporters at Spa on Friday. “I got a call from Oliver and Helmut, and they asked me if I would be interested to do the job.

Laurent Mekies spoke to the worlds media on Friday for the first time since replacing Christian Horner as Red Bull team principal and chief executive; watch the Belgian GP Sprint on Saturday from 11am,

Yuki Tsunoda’s Red Bull received a last-minute upgrade before qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix. The Japanese driver claimed seventh place on the grid, three-tenths of a second behind Max Verstappen, with Tsunoda taking his best grid position of his Red Bull tenure so far.

Red Bull Formula 1 chief engineer Paul Monaghan has admitted Christian Horner’s sacking was a “shock”, and acknowledged boosting the squad's fortunes would be tough for new CEO Laurent Mekies.