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HALF TERM REPORT: RB – Can a strong start help them to keep their midfield rivals at bay?
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Arriving into 2024 with a new name – along with a change in leadership – RB have shifted away from their image as Red Bull’s sister team. In the process, they have put themselves ahead of several midfield rivals at the halfway point of the season. Can they sustain this going forwards? Let’s take a look at their half term report…
Best finish
Yuki Tsunoda – 7th in Australia, Miami
Having made a push on development late into 2023, RB were anticipating a slow start to the current campaign as a result. While Bahrain and Saudi Arabia did prove challenging, the squad soon picked things up by scoring their first points of the season at Round 3 in Australia.
This came courtesy of Yuki Tsunoda, who – despite losing a position off the line after starting from P8 – put in a solid drive to remain in the top-10 for much of the race before ending the event in P7.
Tsunoda has gone on to score at six more Grands Prix since, and this included another seventh place in Miami, a weekend that proved particularly successful for RB. While Daniel Ricciardo missed out on race day, the Australian finished the Sprint in an eye-catching fourth, ahead of Tsunoda in eighth.
Tsunoda scored his and RB's first points of the season in Australia
Qualifying head-to-head
Tsunoda 9 – Ricciardo 5
It has been advantage Tsunoda in qualifying so far, with the 24-year-old outqualifying Ricciardo on nine out of 14 occasions.
However, while Tsunoda led the way during the earlier part of the season, Ricciardo has had the edge more frequently across recent races, having put himself ahead on four of the six last events prior to the summer break.
Ricciardo also secured the team’s best grid slot of the year in Canada, where – on only his second Q3 appearance up to that point of 2024 – took a surprise fifth place.
READ MORE: Traffic lights, tacos and moustaches – Getting to know the real Yuki Tsunoda
Race head-to-head
Tsunoda 8 – Ricciardo 5
Tsunoda has also come out on top in terms of the race day head-to-head, having taken a better result than his team mate at eight Grands Prix so far, while Ricciardo has had the stronger finish on five occasions. China is not included here, with both drivers recording a DNF in Shanghai.
As such, Tsunoda is responsible for 22 of the team’s 34 points. But, as is the case with qualifying, Ricciardo has displayed signs of progress as the season has developed and has crossed the line ahead of Tsunoda more often during recent weekends.
Tsunoda is currently leading Ricciardo in both the qualifying and race day head-to-heads
Best moment
The Sprint in Miami was a definite highlight for RB, with Ricciardo coming home in an impressive fourth, while Tsunoda claimed the final point on offer in eighth. Given that Tsunoda added to their haul by taking P7 in Sunday’s Grand Prix, the team extended their lead over Haas in the scrap for sixth in the constructors’ standings.
Other memorable moments included Tsunoda snatching a point in front of his home crowd for the first time at the Japanese Grand Prix, as well as Ricciardo firing back at his critics – amid some ups and downs during the opening races – by clinching P5 on the grid during qualifying in Montreal.
Worst moment
A frustrating race at the season opener in Bahrain was compounded by a post-chequered flag spat between Tsunoda and Ricciardo, with the former appearing to dive-bomb the latter following an order in the final laps to let Ricciardo by.
While the squad moved on from this incident, there were some other tough moments on the track. The Spanish Grand Prix was a low point as both drivers struggled at the rear of the pack despite the VCARB 01 running a major upgrade package, while China saw the team suffer a double DNF after being caught up in separate incidents.
Ricciardo will be hoping to secure his position at the team for 2025 during the second half of the season
Going forward
RB ended the first half of 2024 on a positive note; Team Principal Laurent Mekies – who was amongst the new leadership team to come onboard following the retirement of Franz Tost – stated after the Belgian Grand Prix that the squad had “enjoyed a very strong first half of the season in which we built up our performance race after race”.
Scoring points at 10 out of 14 races has helped the outfit to build a seven-point lead over nearest challenger Haas in the battle for sixth place of the constructors’ championship. However, given the increasingly fine margins at play across the pack, they may have a fight on their hands to maintain that position.
In terms of their drivers, Tsunoda – who is confirmed to race for RB again in 2025 – will be hoping to add to his tally of points in the second half of the campaign. Ricciardo, meanwhile, left Spa-Francorchamps content off the back of an improved run of form, but the Australian’s future is still undecided and he will need to continue at this level to secure his position for next year.
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