Costly Qualifying Crash Derails RB F1’s Mexican GP Hopes

RB F1 departs Mexico disappointed, having failed to secure points despite promising performance and a targeted top 10 finish.

RB F1 left Mexico without scoring points despite a strong performance in practice sessions. Laurent Mekies, team principal for Faenza, acknowledged that the team had set its sights on a top 10 finish but that things began to unravel during qualifying when Yuki Tsunoda’s crash also compromised Liam Lawson’s chances.

“It’s very frustrating to leave Mexico with no points. We believe the car has improved over the last two races, thanks to updates introduced in Austin. We brought another upgrade this weekend for Yuki’s car only,” Mekies commented.

“However, both drivers should have it next week in Brazil. This has been one of our most competitive weekends in quite a while in terms of pure pace. That was evident throughout all three free practice sessions, with both cars running in the top 10 almost consistently.”

“On Saturday, Yuki’s accident proved costly as the knock-on effect also prevented Liam from reaching Q3, but that’s part of the game. The weekend went off track from there, and in the first lap of the race, Yuki became an unfortunate victim of a squeeze, which is the sort of incident that can occur in the midfield.”

“Liam was on a reverse strategy to try and gain ground on some of the cars ahead. He had a solid first stint and fought well throughout the race, but it ultimately didn’t work out as he encountered heavy traffic in the second half. His contact with Colapinto essentially ended any remaining chance to contend for points.”

“We’ll focus on having a calmer weekend in São Paulo in a few days and push hard to see where the recent improvement in the car’s pace can take us.”

Guillaume Dezoteux, Head of Performance for Visa CashApp RB F1, lamented the incidents that cost both drivers dearly and prevented the team from achieving the result its performance had suggested.

“We hoped for better. The mechanics did a fantastic job repairing Yuki’s car after the qualifying crash, but unfortunately, there was contact between him and Albon right after the start, which brought his race to an end.”

“Liam was on an alternate strategy, starting on hard tyres. He had a solid first stint, battling with several cars around him. After his pit stop, he found himself in constant traffic and eventually had contact that damaged his front wing, forcing us to call him back to the pits.”

“It’s a frustrating end to a weekend where both drivers demonstrated good pace with our car, which continues to improve.”