Mekies Applauds Tsunoda's Japan Success

Mekies Applauds Tsunoda’s Japan Success, Regrets Ricciardo’s Setback

In Japan, RB F1’s Tsunoda clinched a ‘superb’ result, praised by Mekies, while Ricciardo’s race was marred by an ‘unfortunate incident,’ highlighting the highs and lows of motorsport for the team.

RB F1 scored a point in Japan thanks to an outstanding race by Yuki Tsunoda. The local hero benefited from excellent race management, earning praise from Laurent Mekies, the team’s director.

“A fantastic result for the team. Yuki drove a brilliant and well-controlled race in front of his home crowd, managing his tires and pushing hard when it mattered. Great overtakes as well, and not a single mistake throughout the weekend. He deserves this wonderful outcome,” noted the Frenchman.

“Daniel’s first-lap incident was unfortunate. We were quite vulnerable to our competitors behind us, who were mostly on soft tires, and these things can happen. What’s important is that both our drivers had a good pace here, as we demonstrated in yesterday’s qualifying.”

“The team did an excellent job of extracting everything we could from our package this weekend, including a decisive pit stop under high pressure during the race and many tough decisions.”

“It’s only one point for the championship, but it’s a very important one, especially on a day when the top five teams had both cars finish the race. A big congratulations to everyone in Faenza, Bicester, and our partner Honda. We know we must continue to push very hard in every area to stay ahead of the pack, and it will be another completely new challenge for the sprint in China in two weeks.”

Egginton praises the team for a great group effort

Jody Egginton, RB F1’s technical director, also highlights Tsunoda’s work: “The Suzuka race was a very tight battle from start to finish for the last point, but we emerged at the head of the group, thanks to what can only be described as a true team effort.”

“Yuki drove superbly, managing his tires well during the race phases where it was needed, but also showing good pace when necessary to maintain the right gap,” continues the British director, detailing the Japanese driver’s race.

“The pit wall adapted the strategy well after the restart, and the pit crew executed a second fantastic pit stop under pressure, giving Yuki a strong re-entry position on the track in what was an intense battle with Stroll, Bottas, Hulkenberg, and Magnussen.”

“Unfortunately, Daniel’s race didn’t really get started due to his first-lap incident that took him out of contention. Despite not running on dry ground on Friday, he had solid qualifications on Saturday, and we are confident that we can continue to make progress with him in the upcoming events.”

“Everyone on the track and in Faenza and Bicester has worked and continues to work very hard, and the result of this Japanese GP provides further energy to keep pushing and developing the VCARB 01 and the team. We are all looking forward to the upcoming races.”

Mekies Applauds Tsunoda’s Japan Success. Mekies Applauds Tsunoda’s Japan Success

Race Center
China Flag
Chinese GP
21 Mar 2025 - 23 Mar 2025
Free Practice 1
21 MAR 03:30 - 04:30
Sprint Qual
21 MAR 07:30 - 08:14
Sprint Race
22 MAR 03:00 - 04:00
Qualifying
22 MAR 07:00 - 08:00
Race
23 MAR 07:00 - 09:00

2025 F1 Australian Grand Prix - Race Results

Lando Norris
1
LANDO
NORRIS
57
Max Verstappen
2
MAX
VERSTAPPEN
+0.895s
George Russell
3
GEORGE
RUSSELL
+8.481s
Alex Albon
4
ALEX
ALBON
+12.773s
Kimi Antonelli
5
KIMI
ANTONELLI
+15.135s
Lance Stroll
6
LANCE
STROLL
+17.413s
Nico Hulkenberg
7
NICO
HULKENBERG
+18.423s
Charles Leclerc
8
CHARLES
LECLERC
+19.826s
Oscar Piastri
9
OSCAR
PIASTRI
+20.448s
Lewis Hamilton
10
LEWIS
HAMILTON
+22.473s
Pierre Gasly
11
PIERRE
GASLY
+26.502s
Yuki Tsunoda
12
YUKI
TSUNODA
+29.884s
Esteban Ocon
13
ESTEBAN
OCON
+33.161s
Oliver Bearman
14
OLIVER
BEARMAN
+40.351s
Liam Lawson
15
LIAM
LAWSON
47 DNF
Gabriel Bortoleto
16
GABRIEL
BORTOLETO
47 DNF
Fernando Alonso
17
FERNANDO
ALONSO
34 DNF
Carlos Sainz
18
CARLOS
SAINZ
0 DNF
Jack Doohan
19
JACK
DOOHAN
0 DNF
Isack Hadjar
20
ISACK
HADJAR
0 DNF
F1 CALENDAR 2025
Race
Date
Chinese Flag
Chinese
Shanghai International
23 Mar
Japanese Flag
Japanese
Suzuka Circuit
6 Apr
Bahrain Flag
Bahrain
Sakhir desert
13 Apr
Saudi Arabia Flag
Saudi Arabia
Jeddah Street
20 Apr
United States Flag
United States
Miami
04 May

2025 FORMULA 1 DRIVERS' WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

Lando Norris
1
LANDO
NORRIS
25 Points
Max Verstappen
2
MAX
VERSTAPPEN
18
George Russell
3
GEORGE
RUSSELL
15
Alex Albon
4
ALEX
ALBON
12
Kimi Antonelli
5
KIMI
ANTONELLI
10
Lance Stroll
6
LANCE
STROLL
8
Nico Hulkenberg
7
NICO
HULKENBERG
6
Charles Leclerc
8
CHARLES
LECLERC
4
Oscar Piastri
9
OSCAR
PIASTRI
2
Lewis Hamilton
10
LEWIS
HAMILTON
1

2025 FORMULA 1 CONSTRUCTORS' WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

1
McLaren
27
2
Mercedes
25
3
Red Bull
18
4
Williams
12
5
Aston Martin
8
6
Sauber
6
7
Ferrari
5
8
Alpine F1
0
9
Haas F1
0
10
Racing Bulls
0
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