The Racing Bulls took their first points of 2024 at the Australian GP, thanks to a seventh-place result from Yuki Tsunoda. These six points are pure gold for the Faenza team after a tricky start to the season.
Racing Bulls, or Visa Cash App, benefited in Melbourne from retirements up ahead. DNFs from the Mercedes duo and Max Verstappen’s Red Bull provided a crucial opportunity.
“It’s a very positive result for us today. Yuki ran a fast and well-controlled race, taking the lead in the mildfield group and giving us our first points of the season.
“Daniel’s pace was also good, and we can only regret having to start from the back,” commented a satisfied Laurent Mekies at the end of the Australian race.
START OF THE SEASON BELOW EXPECTATIONS? NOT A SURPRISE FOR THE FAENZA TEAM WITH SOME BIRTH “PROBLEMS”.
It was not an especially flatteting start for the Racing Bulls in Bahrain and Jeddah. Their form was particularly disappointed given their excellent finish to 2023.
The car designed by Jody Eggington did not meet the expectations surrounding the team.
However, this uphill start is not a surprise for the Italian team. The technicians at Bicester – the aerodynamic headquarters that will be moved entirely to Milton Keynes within the year – were already expecting to be sixth/seventh fastest.
This is because the Racing Bulls had to deal with several small problems with the new car. The first “negative” findings arrived even before the shakedown and the winter tests.
Cooling problems linked to the internal aerodynamics forced the team to make small sidepod interventions.
Furthermore, the technicians want to reduce overall drag and weight on the VCARB01.
To achieve this goal, a new medium-load rear wing debuted in Australia. It featured a different compromise between the main profile and mobile flap for greater efficiency on straights.
The new specification, in addition to being a different accommodation with less main plane spoon, is also lighter.
This different pattern of overlapping fibres also creates a different airflow. These details, when added together, led the aerodynamicists to introduce a new specification at just the third round.
FIRST IMPORTANT UPGRADE FOR THE VCARB01 TO ARRIVE IN SUZUKA
Early signs of improvement for the RB were seen in Albert Park. The Saudi Arabian GP was certainly where VCARB struggled the most, especially due to a very opaque Daniel Ricciardo at the start.
Ricciardo will be expected in Suzuka to silence speculation linking Liam Lawson to his seat. Meanwhile, in Japan, the Australian will miss FP1 and make way for Iwasa. The Red Bull Academy driver will take the wheel of the VCARB01 on home turf.
The former McLaren and Red Bull driver suffers more from adapting to his driving style with a car which, with the RB19’s pull-rod front suspension, requires a different set-up.
Suzuka will be a crucial attempt for every team team, owing to is technical and set-up demands. Technical Director Jody Egginton emphasises that the VCARB has already shown progress after its early issues.
In less than 12 months, significant changes have been made to the car’s mechanical profile.
“Daniel’s weekend wasn’t easy. However, he kept his head down and worked very hard together with his engineers to make the car closer to his tastes.
“Even if the result doesn’t show it, there are some good signs of progress.”
The sidepods of the Racing Bulls VCARB01 – Illustration Rosario Giuliana
For Honda and Yuki Tsunoda, their home race will see a new floor upgrade for the RB. The new specification will be a first step, which will make the car less linked to the old AT04.
RB’s second step is planned for Imola to address the surface and improve the starting concept of the VCARB01. The Anglo-Italian car is still very similar to the AT04 from Abu Dhabi last year.
The technical director of the Faenza team also expressed himself in this regard:
“I expect that we will be able to start taking advantage of the upcoming events, with the aim of entering the battle in the middle of the field as soon as possible.
“We can’t wait for the next phase of the season. The group in the center is very small, we will focus on making every update count.”
