RB F1 cements its “best of the rest” status, securing sixth place in the Constructors’ standings with standout performances from Tsunoda and Permane.
Race after race, RB F1 cements its status as the “best of the rest,” being the sixth fastest team on the grid.
With 20 points so far, RB F1 is already just five points short of last season’s total, bringing smiles to Faenza!
Laurent Mekies, the team principal, also confirms: the team is ahead of its own schedule.
“Being at the front of the midfield was our medium-to-long-term goal, and after 7 races, we’ve achieved it,” he notes.
“We are ahead of schedule because this wasn’t part of our objectives for this year.”
“However, we are fully aware that we will need to fight to maintain this position throughout the year.”
“We are 6th and have no advantage over any of the teams from 7th to 10th in the Constructors’ standings. But we have carefully developed the car and executed our weekends very precisely, improving race by race. I believe we have taken every possible point available.”
“Let me give you an example: Miami. We scored a lot of points there, but before that weekend, we made a significant effort to bring updates originally planned for Imola to Miami. That’s the name of the game. We went to Miami with two new floors, zero spare parts, taking maximum risk.”
Mekies remains cautious, expecting RB F1 to sometimes slip down the hierarchy as competitors bring their own upgrades.
“The goal is to continue accelerating the pace of car development, and that’s the hardest part.”
“We still expect some bumps along the road. There are phases of the season where we might struggle more, but there are others, hopefully, where we’ll regain performance.”
“We are ahead of schedule, but we will probably struggle in the next two races as our competitors respond with their own upgrades. After that, we will have something to bite into. And this applies on all fronts, not just short-term gains.”
“There will be setbacks… when Sauber, Williams, and Haas have their updates. We expect it to be a huge battle.”
Tsunoda Showing Increasing Maturity
RB F1’s 6th place in the Constructors’ standings is largely thanks to Yuki Tsunoda (15 points) rather than Daniel Ricciardo (5 points). However, Laurent Mekies believes in a resurgence for the Australian, especially since his chassis change.
“For Daniel, the start has certainly been difficult.”
“The first phase was understanding what was preventing him from performing at his best, which aspect of the car’s behavior was limiting him.”
“It’s a specific characteristic of the car during corner entry that he wasn’t comfortable with, and we have started to mitigate these limitations – and we have seen progress race after race.”
As for Yuki Tsunoda, he has been impressing the entire paddock since the start of the year with his driving and maturity.
“With Yuki, what I can tell you is that he has definitely found an even more natural speed. He has found the speed. His understanding has allowed him to go faster.”
“Outside the car, he has made huge strides in terms of maturity and interaction with the engineers. This also reflects in the radio conversations. He has risen to the challenge on weekends.”
The new Sporting Director, Alan Permane, who joined from Alpine F1, is also behind the team’s improved operational performance, Mekies concludes.
“Alan has already had a significant impact. He has integrated fantastically into the team.”
“He comes here with a very open mind, with the clear objective of reinventing and not repeating what has been done at Ferrari, Alpine, Red Bull, or Mercedes, but inventing together the next best way to do things.”
“We have a fantastic talent base within the company. If we really want to be competitive in the midfield, it means we have to beat serious people, car manufacturers, and if you want to do that, you need to strengthen the team in all areas.”
RB F1 Surpasses Targets with Tsunoda and Permane. RB F1 Surpasses Targets with Tsunoda and Permane
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