The points yield for the Racing Bulls was extremely sparse in the first triple-header of the 2024 Formula 1 season. Yuki Tsunoda was able to contribute a single point in Great Britain to the two points that Daniel Ricciardo scored in Austria. The team from Faenza is still in sixth place in the world championship standings. However, they are mainly benefiting from the big points they scored in Miami. The current trend is downward and Haas is threatening to quickly overtake the Racing Bulls with strong performance updates.
Ricciardo is upset: Racing Bulls not competitive! How can the upgrade race be won?
“Unfortunately, we were not competitive,” said Ricciardo after the Silverstone race. “I think that over the last three weekends we have lost the upgrade battle a little compared to some of our opponents in the midfield.”
His team boss Laurent Mekies even thinks that RB has already fallen out of the midfield position they were in at the beginning of the season. But he also believes that they will make it in the close battle of the Formula 1 will be able to get back on track soon: “This race is only halfway through the season, the 12th of 24 races. And we have seen how quickly the hierarchy can change from race to race. It is more of a development race than ever and everyone in Faenza and Bicester is working hard to find the much-needed performance boost for our car.”
Jody Egginton, technical director at RB, is more specific: “In terms of overall performance, the midfield remains very close together and we continue to focus on improving the aerodynamics of the car to move the package forward and have the best possible chance of scoring points.”
Emotional Hamilton victory, McLaren frustration and a super strong performance from Hulk – the British GP had a lot to offer. Christian highlights the most important topics of the race in the video:
Tsunoda thanks Formula 1 weather god: Rain helped us!
Ricciardo was never in the points at any point during the race. “It was a race in mixed conditions, which gave us hope that we could take a chance. But the truth is that we weren’t competitive in any of the conditions,” the Australian said, summing up his bitter race. “We definitely lacked speed today. It just wasn’t a competitive day and it was a long race. Because you notice when nothing is going right.”
Tsunoda did his bit to save his honour by finishing 10th, scoring at least one point for the championship standings. The Japanese, who started from 13th, was overall happy with how the race went and, unlike Ricciardo, he saw at least a positive aspect in the rainy weather: “It was a good but tough race. Based on our pace in free practice, we knew it would be difficult to score points in the dry. I think the wet conditions helped us to keep the gap to the cars in front of us small. Normally I never appreciated the rain, but I think it helped us today.”
But Tsunoda’s start should not be completely ignored, where he gained two positions and thus paved the way to the points. On lap 19, the RB driver gained another position because Ferrari and Charles Leclerc made a mistake with their strategy. In the mixed conditions on the slightly damp track, Tsunoda was then able to work his way up to the two Aston Martins in front of him and follow them.
On lap 28, Tsunoda switched to intermediate tyres. He stopped one lap later than the drivers directly in front of him, but on the same lap as the drivers directly behind him, and retained tenth position behind Fernando Alonso. “I think we made the right decisions at the right time, which certainly helped to get a car into the points,” said Jody Egginton, assessing the race.
Tsunoda did well on the intermediates and was able to keep up with Williams driver Alex Albon pulled away from him and moved closer to Alonso. On lap 34, he also benefited from George Russell’s retirement and gained another position. However, his pit stop did not make the ideal decision for the last stint. The change to soft tires on lap 39 ultimately cost Tsunoda ninth place.
Williams decided to put Albon on medium tyres, which meant that he had the better pace than Tsunoda until the end. While the Japanese driver’s tyres wore out after a few laps and he was unable to keep up with the pace of the others, the Thai driver took his position on lap 46 and Tsunoda ended up in P10.
Tsunoda hopes for progress, Ricciardo remains skeptical
Tsunoda believes that the announced further development of the aerodynamics is essential for better results. “Aerodynamic efficiency is the main issue and we are still losing on the straights. I was surprised how big the difference is between Williams and me when it’s almost all about downforce. It was shocking how big the difference was in the corners,” the 24-year-old analyzed and was amazed that Albon’s tires did not overheat, even though he was driving close behind him the whole time.
Is the poor result for the Racing Bulls just a track-specific issue? At least that’s what the team boss says: “It’s clear that the fast nature of this track doesn’t suit our car particularly well.” Tsunoda also hopes that the Hungaroring, with its mix of high and low speed sections, will suit the Racing Bull better. “Hopefully we can use our strengths there and fight for the top 10,” he says optimistically.
Ricciardo, on the other hand, is not so optimistic. He also points out that the track in Budapest is completely different, but does not think it is enough to say that they will try again next time. “Of course we have to correct a few weaknesses. I will look at my race to find out where I lacked pace. But at times we were eight tenths short per lap and I don’t think that is something in the car,” the Australian said, dampening the hopes of his team, which has a busy few weeks ahead of it to catch up with Haas, Aston Martin and co. in the development race.