Last Updated on March 2 2024, 7:18 pm
All the focus at the Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix has been on the senior Red Bull team and the troubles facing their boss Christian Horner. Yet this season has been targeted by the organisation as one where the junior team once again competes in the midfield.
Much has been made of the incremental collaboration between Red Bull and the Visa Cash App Racing Bulls (V-CARB) and how the junior team improved significantly towards the end of 2023. Having fitted the RB19 suspension in Singapore, the then AlphaTauri team immediately began to improve and came from plumb last to challenge Williams for P7 ion the constructors’ championship at the season finale in Abu Dhabi.
Ricciardo brought in to improve results
Daniel Ricciardo an 8 times Grand Prix winner has been brought in to add experience to the Red Bull junior squad which traditionally has been a proving ground for young up and coming drivers’ making their way in Formula One.
The team have moved a number of functions from their Faenza base in Italy over the winter to Banbury, but Red Bull have confirmed they will be building a new HQ for V-CARB adjacent to their current Milton Keynes site.
Zak Brown has complained over the regulation that allows a company to own two Formula One teams suggesting it gives them an unfair advantage. The McLaren CEO has called for the rules to be changed banning this as the next Concorde Agreement is being negotiated, yet Red Bull have received surprising support for their structure from Mercedes boss Toto Wolff.
Given all this expectations were high for the new V-CARB 2024 challenger and the pre-season testing appeared to suggest they would be on the back of the leading five teams Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes, McLaren and Aston Martin and ahead of their previous rivals of Williams, Sauber and Haas F1. Alpine have built an entirely new car and at present look to be at the back of the field.
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Team orders required
In Bahrain qualifying, Haas were the only team outside the big five to get a driver into the top ten in Nico Hulkenberg and Yuki Tsunoda claimed P11 demonstrating the speed of the V-CARB car. Haas F1 have typically been quick over one lap but in the races suffered from extreme tyre degradation leaving them towards the back of the pack.
Tsunoda now in his fourth season is potentially fighting for his F1 career and knows in Ricciardo he has a tougher team mate than ever before. Ricciardo qualified a poor P15 but his race craft came to the fore as he made up places throughout the race.
After the final pit stops, Tsunoda was on the hard and slower tyre, while Ricciardo managed to eek out stint two and allowed him to fit the faster but less durable soft tyre.
As the final laps played out, Ricciardo came up behind Tsunoda and expected the team to issue an order to let him through to chase down Magnussen in the Haas and potentially the final points scoring position.
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Mekies ‘bottles’ the call
Yet the team bottled the call, hoping Ricciardo would make the pass anyway then realising Tsunoda was holding him up, told the Japanese driver to let his team mate through.
Tsunoda was incensed as the instruction “driver swap – driver swap” came from the V-CARB pit wall. “Are you kidding me now?” was the furious response.
As Yuki continued ignoring the call, Ricciardo came on the radio saying “Yeah, I don’t need to say anything here” sarcastically. Matters became complicated as Max Verstappen closed in to lap the pair and eventually Tsunoda moved aside but not in the most efficient manner.
He and Ricciardo then received the blue flags to allow the race leader through and both fell further back from Magnussen who made hay while the sun shone.
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Tsunoda less than happy
Tsunoda then called in his displeasure saying, “Thanks guys. I appreciate it”.
The laps ran out and Ricciardo had used up the best of his quicker soft tyre fighting his team mate and in the end Magnussen who was out of grip and sliding around managed to come home ahead of the Racing Bulls pair.
Out of the glare of the camera’s Tsunoda chose to demonstrate his fury on the cool down lap after the chequered flag. Approaching turn eight the Japanese driver dive bombed his team mate on the inside and then locked up leaving the track. He then again curt up Ricciardo as the pair entered turn 9.
“What the fuck?” Ricciardo exclaimed as Tsunoda passed him. “Oh, save it.”
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Ricciardo says Yuki “immature”
When asked after the race why Tsunoda have dive bombed him, Ricciardo declared: “I don’t know. I came on the radio and was trying to stay cool.”
“I’m being very sensible right now, but let’s call it immaturity [by Yuki[,” the Aussie told an F1 reporter. “He’s obviously frustrated with the team orders call,” concluded Ricciardo.
Ricciardo revealed the team had discussed this exact possible situation before the race revealing, “it was very likely I was going to use a soft at the end of the race. So he knew that there was a chance that I would have a pace advantage at the end and if he gets the call, then it’s going to happen.”
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Mekies needs to step up
Of course the spat was in the end not for points and even had Ricciardo been let through earlier he may have passed Magnussen but was unlikely to make P10.
“He’s not giving me points,” Ricciardo noted. “We’re fighting for 13th, so at least give us the best chance to get at least one car in the points.”
New team boss Laurent Mekies who left Ferrari following the sacking of Mattia Binotto was left holding his head in his hands and having a serious situation to deal with at race one.
Ted Kravitz reported Mekies said, “I will deal with it” after the chequered flag, but as yet no news has emerged of the V_CARB debrief and whether the team boss has laid down the law. Further Mekies will need to be more decisive in future when such a call needs to be made.
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There isn’t a chance Red Bull will take Tsunoda as a replacement to Perez. He isn’t fast enough, and his hot temper would be a constant risk to team harmony. And with LIam Lawson in the wings, plus Daniel being a golden child, his baseline feelings must be pretty rough. His reaction to Daniel in the cool-down lap, when it was a team call, shows how seething he is deep down to everything. I predict he’ll be replaced by Liam before the years over.