Racing Bulls and the contradictions of the F1: lose pilots, a success

The racing Bulls team leader, Laurent Mekies, says that the loss of Yuki Tsunoda in favor of Red Bull has been a success for his F1 teamdespite how their pilot alignments have varied and conflict with performance objectives.

Mekies’s team has received “Super ambitious objectives” to fight in the busy middle zone of Formula 1, something that they are getting slowly but safely. Strategic decisions have cost points to the Anglo-Litian structure during the first two weekend of 2025 racing, but otherwise they have produced A car capable of fighting for pointsa battle that is decided by extremely narrow margins this year, since RB exchanges blows with teams like Williams, Haas, Alpine and Aston Martin.

Another problematic factor has been The Red Bull Pilot Carousel, which uploaded Liam Lawson at the beginning of the year, to change it for Tsunoda after only two races. In statements to the podcast ‘James Allen on F1’, which you can listen to here, Mekies admitted that the team’s task of forming pilots for Red Bull He could conflict with his performance objectives, but considered a success to have promoted both Lawson and Tsunoda.

“Our main objective is competitiveness. Our second objective is to play our role in the development of Red Bull pilots“Mekies told Allen from the new facilities of the team, in Milton Keynes, after having transferred her base in the United Kingdom from Bikester to a new building next to the Red Bull headquarters.

“Therefore, if our pilots yield well enough to get the attention of the entire Red Bull family to the point of ascending, it is a success. Now, sometimes the second objective conflicts with the firstbut it was a success last year when we put two pilots on the table potentially capable of going to Red Bull. “

“It is a triumph again for us, this year, when we see that Yuki has the opportunity. And Yuki is a pilot who has grown in an incredible way in the last year and a half. We are used to seeing the pilots grow in the first two campaigns of their career. But what he has done in the fourth and fifth year has been extraordinary. It is a great moment for Yuki. He deserves it. It is a great moment for the team to see him get there, so of course we are very happy. “

Instead of Tsunoda, Lawson returned to the team for a third season, after having had difficulties from day to live up to the last Junior product of the Red Bull family, the impressive runner -up of F2 Isack Hadjarwhich quickly adapted to the demands of the great circus.

Lawson qualified ahead of Hadjar for the first time in Saudi Arabia, and the French acknowledged that his partner had been pressing him throughout the weekend, but otherwise The New Zealander still has a job to do to continue his rhythm in the race.

Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls, Laurent Mekies, RB F1 Team

Foto: Kym Illman – Getty Images

“Lawson remains the guy with talented that he piloted for us a few weeks or months ago“Mekies said.” We understand perfectly how brutal it can be in the upper part of the grill and we are convinced that the speed is there. “

“He knows that he has all our support. He has been able to digest, learn and improve with us. And it has already been seen in Japan, Bahrain, Yeda; One step forward in each race. In Arabia he stayed at half tenth, more or less, of the Q3. We are sure that he will return to the speed he showed last year“He concluded.