Red Bull Can’t Ignore Yuki Tsunoda Anymore

Yuki Tsunoda’s recent performances have the executives at Red Bull confused on how to move forward with the future of their driver lineup. Tsunoda has out performed his teammate Daniel Ricciardo on almost every occasion thus far this season. With rumors of ultimatums surrounding Daniel Ricciardo’s possible removal. Tsunoda has the ultimate opportunity to perform at his home grand prix this weekend in Japan.

Tsunoda Speaks to the Fans During This Weekend’s Preview Festivities

Yuli spoke to press during the pre race weekend press conference, “Hi everybody, it’s Yuki here with the preview for Japan. Very excited, first of all – my home Grand Prix. The track itself is very high-speed and at the same time very risky. Once you step out of the track you end up in the wall, so you know a bit of fear as well, but definitely it’s my favorite track; I never get bored there.

Last year I was able to go through to Q3 so that was very good. I achieved the target but at the same time, I wasn’t able to score points yet the last two years, so hopefully I can achieve that this year. So far, it’s good momentum, I think at the same time, every race we reset and focus, so let’s see how it goes but I’m feeling confident and can’t wait to get on the track in front of Japanese fans!”

Despite not yet scoring points in his home race, Tsunoda hopes to achieve this this weekend. The battle between the two RB drivers should be a good one as it appears both are fighting for their seats as neither is confirmed beyond 2024. The variable of adverse weather could be a factor with rain currently listed at 40% chance this weekend. Tsunoda finished 12th in the 2023 outing and 13th in the rain plagued race in 2022. Can Tsunoda score points this weekend and set the tone in the RB camp that he is the front man?

Red Bull reserve driver Liam Lawson wowed the masses with his performances with Alpha Tauri last year. Ricciardo suffered from a wrist injury that saw him sit out for 5 races. Lawson stepped in and was able to score points in his short 5 race stint with the car. A feat Ricciardo had not yet accomplished for the then Alpha Tauri side. In 2023, Alpha Tauri now RB saw a year of disappointment leaving them P8 in the championship race. Despite that finish the RBs are showing glimpses of improvement as they now sit P6 in the constructors championship.

Jody Egginton (Technical Director): After the Australian Grand Prix

“After some frustrations in the first two GP’s, where we showed some positive signs but did not manage to put it all together, it’s very satisfying to have delivered a solid event here at Albert Park, with all of the hard work trackside, in Bicester and Faenza being rewarded with points today. Yuki has been strong all weekend here, finishing the job off with a very mature and confident drive in the race, which is very satisfying to see and something I am sure he is very happy about!  Daniel’s weekend has been less straightforward, but credit to him. He has got his head down and worked very hard together with his engineers to get the car more towards his liking.

Although the result does not show it, there are some good signs of progress, which I expect we can start to capitalize on in the next events, with the target of getting him into the fight at the sharp end of the mid-field battle as soon as possible. Looking at the first three events, overall, I feel we are building a solid understanding of our car and are looking forward to the next phase of the season. However, with the midfield being very tight, we will be focused on making each update count and executing weekends like this one to build on this solid result.” 

Is Ricciardo Going to Improve?

Daniel Ricciardo has yet to show he still has what it takes to keep his seat at RB. RB has raised concerns with Ricciardo’s lack of performance. Teammate Yuki Tsunoda has scored all of the points for RB thus far in the season. Ricciardo is one of seven drivers who have yet to score points this season. With reserve driver Liam Lawson preparing full time for his next opportunity on the grid. The pressure on Ricciardo to perform is building by the day. Lawson has proven that he can score points in F1 having almost no experience with the car. Ricciardo has had multiple opportunities to shine and those opportunities are starting to run slim.

Helmut Marko is rumored to have given Ricciardo an ultimatum. If his results don’t start improving within the next two races he will be replaced by Lawson.

After the Australian Grand Prix Carlos Sainz has been the talk of the paddock with his race winning pace. Ferrari showed their might in Australia taking advantage of shortcomings at Red Bull and Mercedes to secure a 1-2 finish led by Sainz. Sainz has had an up and down past 3 years. While he made some mistakes the majority of his shortcomings have been attributed to bad luck and poor strategy calls. It’s clear that Ferrari made the decision to pass on Sainz but did they make the right choice?

Journey Into History

Sainz’s move to Ferrari marked a significant step in his career. He joined the team alongside Charles Leclerc, from his tenure at McLaren. Sainz had a solid debut season with Ferrari and showcased consistent performances throughout the year. Sainz started off as a regularly finishing in the points and often battling with the front-runners. While he didn’t secure any race victories in his rookie season , he demonstrated his competitiveness and ability to deliver strong results for the team.

Fast forward to 2024 and Sainz has since documented 3 wins and 20 podiums in Formula 1; more than many of his competitors. However, Sainz still doesn’t have a seat for 2025. Ferrari announced that Lewis Hamilton will be taking his place at Ferrari in 2025. The news came at the same time Sainz was diagnosed with appendicitis and had to miss the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. There were questions surrounding his fitness for the Australian Grand Prix but Sainz made the decision to make the trip. His performance however was something no one expected. Winning the race and winning in the dominant fashion he did sparked conversations on whether Ferrari made the right decision.

Charles Leclerc Offers His Thoughts on Sainz

With the decision made to let Sainz go. There are rumors he is linked with a move to Red Bull, Aston Martin and possibly to Mercedes given Hamilton’s departure. Of course nothing is confirmed and this is all speculation. . His current teammate Charles Leclerc said, “I think everybody knows Carlos’ worth in the paddock. He’s one of the highest-rated drivers in the paddock and he’s been extremely strong every time he was in a Formula 1 car. He has showed it multiple times, so I don’t think he’s underrated for that. That’s why I’ve said many times that I’m not too worried about his future, because I’m sure that many, many Team Principals are…he doesn’t say it, but for sure they are speaking with him! And I’m sure he will have many opportunities. He’ll just have to make the best choice for his career.”

As the prospective landing spots for Sainz come to light, fans will be eager to determine his new team for 2025. It is hard to imagine a driver of Sainz’s caliber to end up without a seat for 2025. Stranger things have happened in Formula 1 thought. Only time will tell his fate.

Carlos Sainz crossed the finish line a winner today in Australia in a fashion that was in stark contrast to the race in 2023. World championship leader Max Verstappen was forced to retires from the race after his back right axel caught fire and had a catastrophic failure. The retirement was his first retirement in two years. “Yeah, it’s not ideal. Of course you always want to finish the races but it’s a mechanical sport,” Verstappen said following his first retirement since the 2022 Australian Grand Prix. “These things unfortunately happen, but I think it’s the most important that we understand why it happened.”

Sainz Bounces Back in Return Race

After missing the race in Jeddah due to precautions surrounding surgery Sainz came back in full force.

What a rollercoaster! I’m extremely happy,” said Sainz. “I felt good in the car right from lap 1 and after overtaking Max (Verstappen), when I was in free air, I started setting a strong pace that took me all the way to the finish line, bringing home the first win of the season. I’m also happy that George is OK after the heavy crash. The team deserves this one-two, we did a fantastic job all weekend, from FP1 to the last lap. We executed a perfect race, nailed the strategy and the mechanics were incredible delivering precise and quick pit stops every single time. Congratulations to everyone! Let’s carry this momentum to Japan! Vamos!

Charles Leclerc complained about the rear wing selection on this car in qualifying. Despite the early struggles, the P2 finish was a good team finish for Ferrari who have struggled in recent years to maintain a regular presence on the podium as race winners. That all changed this weekend. “It was a really good weekend for the team. We maximized our points and left nothing on the table, bringing home a 1-2 finish and the fastest lap.

Carlos did a solid job today. On my side, I had a good first stint and we managed to get ahead of Lando (Norris) during the pit stop. I struggled a bit with graining on my first set of Hards and had a stronger pace on the last stint on the second set of Hards, managing the gap to Lando.
We’ve started out the season with three weekends in which we have made the most of our potential, which feels really good and is a testimony to all the hard work that our team has put in over the past months.”

Double DNF for Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton was the first Mercedes out of the race. The race seemed to be going well for Hamilton but he had a sudden loss of all power in the car. My race was going OK up until the point we suffered the Power Unit failure. It’s quite tough to overtake here but we had gained some positions early on with the Soft tyre. It was unfortunate that we had to retire as there was still a long way to go. I was beginning to press on, but the Power Unit just stopped. These things happen and I know we will bounce back.” His teammate George Russell crashed out of the race on the final lap which was a low point for the Mercedes side.

McLaren secured maximum points behind the Ferraris with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri finishing P3 and P4 respectively.

Full Australian Grand Prix Results

Note – Leclerc scored an additional point for setting the fastest lap of the race. Car #2 (Logan Sargeant, Williams) withdrawn. Gasly received a five-second time penalty for crossing the line at the pit exit. Alonso received a drive-through penalty converted to 20-second time penalty for potentially dangerous driving.

Max Verstappen (Red Bull) put on a sensational performance in Q3 setting the fastest lap then beating it to be the only driver to dip into the 1m15s lap times. Almost 5 tenths faster than his fastest lap in Q2. “It was a bit unexpected I think today in qualifying but very happy with Q3,” said Verstappen after the session. “I think both of those laps felt really, really nice and that was very enjoyable. It was bit of a tricky weekend so far but we managed to get there in the end, so I’m very happy with that.”

Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) made a shocking exit in Q2 falling 2 tenths behind on pace to Fernando Alonso in P10. His teammate George Russell made it into Q3 and will start P7 on the grid. Hamilton will start P11. Mercedes will have their work cut out for them in the Grand Prix. With Aston Martin, Ferrari, Red Bull and McLaren all making leaps forward. Mercedes have not yet met the mark. If these set backs continue Mercedes will find themselves out of contention for a “top 4” spot.

Tsunoda Out Performs Ricciardo Again

Yuki Tsunoda made the cut to make Q3 again outperforming his teammate Daniel Ricciardo who finished behind in P18 after failing to make it into Q2. The controversy at Visa Cash App RB continues to stir as to whether Danila Ricciardo will be able to sustain these continued failures and keep his seat. Liam Lawson awaits his opportunity to shine after getting a taste of racing in 2023. Lawson turned heads last season after being called up for reserve driver duties due to Daniel Ricciardo injuring his hand.

With Ricciardo’s continued declining performances the whispers have started about an opportunity for Lawson to step in and help get Visa Cash App Red Bull’s season headed in the right direction.

Qualifying Results for the Australian Grand Prix

Charles Leclerc has positioned himself at the top of the table in practice thus far this weekend. In FP3 Leclerc edged out Max Verstappen by 0.02s suggesting that the Ferraris can consistently match qualifying pace of the Red Bulls but need to find a way to translate that to race wins. “It’s been a couple of tough weeks leading to today and to be honest I’m very happy I could complete both sessions feeling reasonably comfortable. I will continue to take it step by step to make sure I come to qualifying and to the race in the best form possible. I’m confident tomorrow will be better and overall, the car seems to be in a good place this weekend. We’ll try to maximize everything from body and machine!”

Qualifying is just a few hours away.

FP3 Results

Max Verstappen once again led the effort at Red Bull ahead of teammate Sergio Perez to secure a 1-2 finish for the Red Bull side at Jeddah. The Red Bulls dominated the race and made a definitive statement in terms of their pace this season. F1 fans had anticipated Red Bull would sweep the season again but no one thought they’d do so by the margins they have. Here is how it all happened in Jeddah.

Gasly and Stroll Out Early

Pierre Gasly unfortunately didn’t make it one lap in the race before having to retire the car. Gasly suffered from a major failure related to his gearbox rendering his day over before it could even get started. 6 laps later Lance Stroll made contact with the wall at Turn 22 which resulted in his suspension being terminally damaged. The crash triggered the safety car which prompted a flood of pit stops given the 11s time loss compared to the typical 20 seconds under green flag conditions.

The majority of the cars pitted for Hard tires including the front runners Verstappen, Perez and Charles Leclerc to extend their initial stints and take care of their mandatory tire switch early as the race developed. . An unfortunate hurdle for Sergio Perez added 5 seconds to his race time for an unsafe release. Ultimately it didn’t make a difference in his finishing position as the pace of the Red Bulls proved to be too much for the competition and he was able to climb to 2nd by the end of the race.

Bearman Scores Points in F1 Debut in Jeddah

Oliver Bearman was called up from his F2 weekend at Jeddah to substitute for the recovering Carlos Sainz who was ruled out this weekend due to appendicitis. Bearman had a good qualifying but had to settle for P11 at the start. Despite that Bearman proved that he is good enough to hang with the best drivers in the world. After making some sensation passes Bearman finished the race P7 and helped Ferrari claim a double points finish. Bearman commented on his F1 debut.

“What a great experience and opportunity to have my first race in Formula 1 with Scuderia Ferrari, ” said Bearman. “It was physically demanding, especially in the end when I had Lando (Norris) and Lewis (Hamilton) behind me on Softs. I had to push flat out to maintain the gap and had to stay really focused, always checking my mirrors. It was a shame that the Safety Car came out so early, as I was comfortable on the Softs, but of course it was the right call to pit then and I’m very happy with the result.

I’m confident that I maximized everything today and had great fun out there. I’ll never forget this weekend. Thank you to the whole team for their support and for giving me the chance to race.”

Aston Martin Outperforms Mercedes Again, Mercedes Has No Answers

Mercedes is left scratching their heads in Saudi Arabia. They were out performed by Aston Martin again leaving the team dejected and wondering where they went wrong. To make matters worse both McLarens finished ahead outscoring Mercedes by 6 points on the weekend.

Mercedes Team Principal said, “Today was not a good day for us. It is clear that we are struggling with the car in the high-speed corners. We are competitive elsewhere but in three corners here, we were losing about half-a-second. It was therefore incredibly difficult for the drivers to attack with. We tried something different on the strategy but unfortunately, with the low levels of degradation we saw across the field, it didn’t work out for us. Congratulations must go to Ollie Bearman; he jumped in the car at such short notice and drove a great race, particularly in that final stint. It shows just how high the level is in Formula 2.

Wolff Continued…

There is so much learning we can take from these first two race weekends. We need to get our heads down to analyze, understand and improve. It’s clear that we’ve got a lot of work to do but these tough days make you better. Everyone is committed to getting the car into a better place and we look forward to coming back stronger in Australia.”

Results from the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix at Jeddah

For more coverage be sure to check out F1.com

Max Verstappen claimed his first pole position at Jeddah today which felt like a bit of redemption after “the lap that never was” a few years ago that surely would’ve seen Verstappen set the lap record. His blistering 1m 27.472s lap sent him 3 tenths clear of Charles Leclerc who also had a late charge in Q3 to take P2. In third came Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez.

Fernando Alonso also put his name in the mix finishing qualifying with a best lap a mere 0.046s slower than Sergio Perez. Aston Martin displayed formidable pace in Q3. On paper this could see Fernando Alonso into podium contention. Jeddah is a track known for its tight, high speed corners. Jeddah is one of the least forgiving circuits on the Formula 1 schedule leaving almost no margin for error. Aston Martin is looking to bounce back after a disappointing first round of the season saw them fall behind substantially in pace to the McLarens. Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris finished P5 and P6 respectively in Q3. It would be a mistake to write them off for podium contention.

Substitute Ferrari Driver Oliver Bearman Falls Short in Q2 but Shows Promise

Oliver Bearman got the call this weekend that Carlos Sainz would not be able to continue the race weekend due to a diagnosis of appendicitis. Bearman had limited time to get acquianted with the data gathered thus far and had to put it into practice ahead of qualifying. Bearmen successfully made it out of Q1 but fell just short in Q2; finish P11 overall. Bearman was excited about the opportunity to step up.

“It’s been a great day but it could have been even better. It wasn’t the ideal way of making my F1 debut and of course I send all my best wishes to Carlos for a speedy recovery. But it’s a great opportunity nevertheless. I would have liked to have come to [qualifying] with more than the 22 laps I did in FP3. But I can still be happy with today, even if Q2 was a bit messy. It was so close, but I made a mistake on my first push lap, so I had to do a second one and by then the tires were no longer at their best. Now I’m ready to make the most of this opportunity tomorrow. I will focus on bringing the car home, although points would be nice. But it’s my first race on a really difficult track, so I can’t expect too much.”

The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix kicks off tomorrow.

Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Qualifying Results

This morning is was announced that Carlos Sainz would be sitting out of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix due to concerns surrounding a diagnosis of appendicitis. “Carlos Sainz has been diagnosed with appendicitis and will require surgery,” read a brief statement issued by Ferrari, who wished their driver “a speedy recovery. As from FP3 and for the rest of this weekend, he will be replaced by reserve driver Oliver Bearman. Oliver will therefore take no further part in this round of the F2 Championship.”

Oliver Bearman will step up to take over for Sainz on the weekend. We will report more as this story develops.

Have the Aston Martins been reborn? After a lackluster round 1 in Bahrain Aston martin is looking to find that spark again like they did at the begging of the 2023 season. Today in FP2 we saw a glimpse of that brilliance when Fernando Alonso finished on top of the table in Jeddah. The street circuit is one of the most technical on the calendar and the drivers will be pushed to the brink in order to find consistency with lap times.

Alonso Sets the Bar for FP3

Alonso set a 1m28.827s lap time ahead of George Russell who was 0.0230s behind and Max Verstappen who was just over 3 tenths behind. Charles Leclerc finished in 4th ahead of Sergio Perez in 5th. Perez had positive thoughts on the day despite not finishing in the top 3. He said, “I think we’re in a good spot, in a good place – it was a very positive Thursday. We have a very good idea which direction we need to take to make the car faster and if we’re able to do that, it’s going to benefit the long run, it’s going to benefit the qualifying. So, very pleased with the day.”

Daniel Ricciardo Falls Behind Again

After finishing 12th in FP1 Ricciardo didn’t move in the direction he had hoped. With his job at RB on the line, moving towards the back of the grid is not what is going to convince Red Bull that they made the right decision to forgo Liam Lawson. To make matters worse RB teammate Yuki Tsunoda out performed Ricciardo yet again finishing the session 11th. Ricciardo said, “It was an FP2 session of two halves. We were competitive on the first set of the soft compound but instead, I struggled a lot with the second set.

The track was getting better, and everyone was improving, but I really struggled to improve my time because I encountered some traffic and didn’t feel that bite. The second set was a little bit of a mystery, so there’s something to learn from that, but looking at the first set, we don’t have to be too discouraged. We’ll get back to work tonight and understand how we can put it all together.”

Tsunoda Ends FP2 on Positive Note

Tsunoda moved in the opposite direction finishing behind Ricciardo in FP1 but ahead in FP2. He had more positive thoughts on the day. “Overall, today was a good day,” Tsunoda said. “There are still a couple of areas to look into tonight, but the car is feeling ok in terms of balance. The data we gathered in both Practice Sessions today is important and will help us find more time for tomorrow. I lost out on Q3 by seven-thousandths of a second last week in Bahrain and that shows it’s a very tight field, but this keeps the team and myself motivated and focused. Tonight is about finetuning and putting it together for tomorrow and the race on Saturday. Let’s see how we go.”

FP3 kicks off in a few short hours. Can Ricciardo return to podium challenging form?

Full FP2 Results from Jeddah