END OF YEAR REPORT: RB – A new identity, another mid-season driver change and flashes of potential

RB entered the 2024 season fresh from a rebranding – having swapped out their previous Red Bull-linked AlphaTauri moniker – and with high hopes of progressing through F1’s midfield. While they were in the hunt for sixth in the constructors’ championship until the final round, it was not quite enough to climb higher than the P8 they recorded in 2023. Via another mid-season driver change, which saw Daniel Ricciardo booted out in favour of Liam Lawson, here is the squad’s end of year report…

Best finish

Yuki Tsunoda – 7th in Australia, Miami and Brazil

It was Tsunoda who scored RB’s best result of the season, finishing a fine seventh at the Australian, Miami and Sao Paulo Grands Prix – the next best being the eighth place he achieved in Monaco, and that former team mate Ricciardo claimed in Canada.

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The year represented another step forward for the Japanese youngster, who spearheaded RB’s charge at most events and earned an “outstanding” report from team boss Laurent Mekies, as well as a chance to show what he could do in a Red Bull test outing post-season.

When looking at the Sprint weekends, Ricciardo’s stunning drive to fourth on the grid and fourth in the 100-kilometre race at the Miami International Autodrome topped the scoresheet, but the veteran racer did not produce that kind of form often enough to keep his seat.

Qualifying head-to-head

Tsunoda 18-6/0 Ricciardo/Lawson

As touched on above, Tsunoda’s all-round improvements in and out of the cockpit, combined with Ricciardo struggling to consistently unlock performance, saw him build up a significant 12-6 intra-team qualifying advantage between the Bahrain season opener and Singapore.

Ricciardo’s subsequent exit gave 2023 super-sub Lawson another opportunity to stake his claim for a full-time seat and, while he re-adapted to F1 life admirably, Tsunoda’s experience shone through in a 6-0 one-lap head-to-head across the final two triple-headers.

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Race head-to-head

Tsunoda 13-8/2 Ricciardo/Lawson

When it came to their race day comparison, Tsunoda and Ricciardo were much more evenly matched – the former only just leading the way on 9-8 (both having retired in China). However, he crucially better exploited opportunities to bag points, scoring in five of the opening eight Grands Prix.

To a lesser extent than qualifying, Tsunoda also had the edge over Lawson in race trim – the two occasions he lost out coming through a crash in Mexico and the New Zealander impressively rising from the back of the field to ninth on an alternate strategy in the United States.

Best moment

Still fresh in the mind, Tsunoda and Lawson qualifying a remarkable third and fifth respectively during a rain-hit qualifying session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix takes some beating – both drivers also surviving treacherous conditions during the race to score points.

Ricciardo’s gutsy Sprint display in Miami and the strong response to his critics – namely former world champion Jacques Villeneuve – over the Canada weekend also deserve a shout out, but as mentioned, this version of the Australian was rarely seen in 2024.

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Worst moment

While Ricciardo’s impending departure felt inevitable by the time the Singapore Grand Prix rolled around, with so much talk in the press leading up to the event, Red Bull and RB chiefs stayed silent on the potential for a change until a couple of days after the chequered flag.

It meant one of the bubbliest, friendliest characters in the F1 paddock was denied the send-off he deserved, with Mekies subsequently admitting that he was “not happy” about the situation and “we should have done a better job”.

Going forward

RB's driver line-up has now been finalised for next season, with F2 runner-up Isack Hadjar stepping up to partner Yuki Tsunoda after Liam Lawson was confirmed as Max Verstappen's Red Bull team mate for 2025 – leaving Sergio Perez without a seat.

Now that the line-up is set, the target for RB moving forward will clearly be to get themselves on the right side of an increasingly tight midfield battle in 2025 and edge back to the highs of their AlphaTauri days – which included consistently strong points finishes and the occasional surprise podium.

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“The perception of the season is probably going to be depending on the final [constructors’] result in Abu Dhabi,” Mekies, having taken on the Team Principal role from Franz Tost last winter, told me at the penultimate round in Qatar. “But what we are all very optimistic about is the steps forward the team has done through the season.

“We were able to build stronger foundations for the future and we have seen the team developing. The fight for P6 already has also forced us to be sharper, and to execute stronger, so it’s very exciting for the future.”

With experienced names such as Alan Permane (Racing Director) and Tim Goss (Chief Technical Officer Racing) joining the operation this year, Mekies signed off: “There have been a number of changes in the team, and a number of improvements, that I’m confident to say we have the right people, at the right place, to bring the team to the next place.”