Alexander KnightRB F1 faces early-season struggles, with director Peter Bayer outlining a plan to bounce back, focusing on car balance and driver feedback.
Peter Bayer, the director of the Faenza-based team, discusses a battle plan to address this issue, including feedback from Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo on the VCARB 01, amidst Dr. Helmut Marko’s critical comments towards both drivers, suggesting their current performance does not merit a promotion to Red Bull Racing over Sergio Perez (read more here).
“Since Jeddah, we’ve been intensely focusing on the car’s balance, both aerodynamic and mechanical, to ensure we’re maximizing the vehicle’s performance. We introduced a new rear wing this weekend on both cars, which appears to be effective so far, with both drivers feeling very comfortable. Yuki, perhaps even more so, as he had very little to critique about the car. As for Daniel, we believe we know what needs to be done.”
“We’ve learned a lot since Bahrain, and our two drivers have shown promise, although Jeddah was a bit of an anomaly: we were vying for tenth place throughout, until we got stuck behind Kevin Magnussen, which potentially cost us our first point of the season.”
The Austrian leader is very pleased with Yuki Tsunoda’s progress so far.
“Yuki has matured significantly, especially over the past few months. He’s identified some of his weaknesses, realizing that swearing in the car cost him a tenth each time. He’s doing an exceptional job amidst such a tight pack, staying focused, working well with his engineers, and delivering the results we expect.”
However, the situation with Daniel Ricciardo is more delicate at the moment, though Bayer is very happy to have him on the team.
“His start to the season has been challenging in terms of results, but very positive regarding his integration into the team. He’s been instrumental in identifying the car’s weaknesses and in terms of adjustments. The pace is there; he just needs to bring everything together. And it’s also up to us as a team to support him, like not missing a pit stop as in Jeddah and sending him back into heavy traffic.”
RB F1’s efforts will “pay off around mid-season”
While Bayer acknowledges frustration within the team, he asks for patience and believes in better days ahead later this year.
“As a team, we’ve been able to build on the fantastic legacy that Franz Tost created, but Laurent Mekies only joined us in January. So, we focused on building the team. And we’ve shaken the tree… We’ve thus changed structures. We’ve created new positions. New people have joined us, and more will follow. We’ve been fortunate to move things forward until the end of last year.”
“Then, at the start of this year, we really focused on everyone settling in. What matters is the people and developing the culture. But it’s a long-term project we’re working on, and we’re confident that by mid-season, we’ll see the fruits of our labor.”
RB F1 finished in the points in the last three editions of the Australian Grand Prix. Does Bayer believe such a result is achievable this weekend?
“I remain optimistic, but given how tight the midfield is, and if the top five teams finish with both cars, it becomes very, very challenging for us in the second half of the grid to score points, likely the reason why we’ve seen new strategies and early team orders, things you wouldn’t typically see so early in the year. But I believe it’s because in this second half of the pack, we need to find creative solutions, and we’ll push as hard as possible, obviously, to finish in the points.”
RB F1’s Mid-Season Comeback Strategy. RB F1’s Mid-Season Comeback Strategy
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