Yuki Tsunoda, Japanese driver for RB Formula 1, had the opportunity to overtake Kevin Magnussen during the Bahrain Grand Prix. The team decided to swap their cars during the race, adding some excitement to an otherwise uneventful event. Tsunoda initially resisted following an order to let Daniel Ricciardo overtake him, as he was trying to pass Magnussen to stay in 12th place. However, when Ricciardo failed to make progress, Tsunoda became dissatisfied and requested a review of the situation. There was more tension between the drivers on the cool-down lap, with Tsunoda making a risky move that nearly resulted in a collision with his teammate. RB Formula 1 CEO Peter Bayer acknowledges that the team could have avoided this situation and potentially gained a valuable point if they had covered Lance Stroll’s pit stop earlier in the race. Bayer admits that focusing on Stroll and making the right strategic decisions could have prevented the fight with Magnussen and the conflict between the drivers. He confirms that the possibility of a team order had been discussed before the race, and Tsunoda had been informed of the plan.
However, the Austrian states that he has no problem with Tsunoda’s dissatisfied attitude, recognizing that adrenaline would be high inside the cockpit.
“And it’s probably not simple, because they’re in the zone, and they feel they can do it. But we observe from the data that they’re not going to make it, so we have to make those decisions.”
Amid closer technical collaboration between the Faenza-based team and Red Bull, Red Bull’s midfield competitors were concerned that the team would consistently score points.
Despite Tsunoda standing out in qualifying by securing 11th place, Red Bull was unable to challenge the top five teams, and Bayer clarified that the focus is on maximizing their current package.
“For now, it’s really about adjusting the balance of the car,” he said. “It’s interesting, Yuki seems quite happy with the balance.
“Daniel still wants a bit more front end, which we managed to figure out now. In the last stint, we managed to find that setup for him.
“And so, once again, we gained a lot of knowledge this weekend, and we will take the fight to our competitors next week in Jeddah.
“It’s very, very close. It’s a matter of tenths, and as we saw in qualifying, thousandths of seconds. I suppose if we disregard Max [Verstappen], it will be a very intriguing year!”
