F1 News
Tsunoda assesses his new team boss Mekies after two races
- Ludo van Denderen
It takes some getting used to: no longer Franz Tost, but Laurent Mekies, who transferred from Ferrari, is in charge of Visa Cash App RB, the sister team of Red Bull Racing. Tost was at the helm with the Italians from day one, but he retired after the 2023 F1 season. Yuki Tsunoda is convinced that Mekies' arrival is definitely not a step backwards.
"We have very good relationship and definitely already he is helping quite a lot with things to improve our team," Tsunoda said about Mekies. "Obviously there are a bit of similarity between Franz and Laurent, that those two, they really care about each person in the team and I think each person's comments count and he tries to blend in all of it and make the best answer as much as possible. Actually, I didn't feel [it was] hard towards him, like, struggling to adapt to him or whatever."
Mekies has no easy task, according to Tsunoda
According to Tsunoda, he and the new team boss got along well right from the start. That applies not only to the Japanese driver, but everyone in the team. "We just straight up had a good relationship and I think we’re the whole team in the right way and right mood. And yeah, it's definitely not easy job right now to, you know, blend all the people in, to make sure everyone's feeling comfortable, because there's lots of new people coming. But so far, what I saw in the team, everyone seems happy and very, very relaxing, comfortable to work together."
The next step is to ensure that the good atmosphere is reflected in good results. After two Grand Prix, VCARB have yet to score points. The best result was 13th place at the Bahrain Grand Prix.