Mekies on Tsunoda's potential: "That would be interesting"

"Yuki last year, did a step, I think none of us was expecting," Mekies told media present in Bahrain, including GPblog. "Did a big step forward in terms of speed, in terms of maturity, in terms of technical feedback. And I think if there is another step like that in Yuki this year, it’s going to be really interesting."

It is common knowledge that Tsunoda still has a desire to move up from Racing Bulls to Red Bull Racing. The 24-year-old driver was in the picture to replace Sergio Pérez alongside Max Verstappen, but ultimately saw the seat go to teammate Liam Lawson. Despite the disappointment, the Japanese driver has not given up yet. In fact, he has since taken on a new manager, who immediately started talks with Helmut Marko.

High expectations around Tsunoda

But how exactly would Mekies define a good year for Tsunoda? "So in terms of what would a good year look like for him is that to see another step of the same magnitude of what we’ve seen last year, I think that would mean we are in a very good territory."

For Hadjar, Tsunoda's new teammate, different metrics apply. "For Isack, [it's a] different story," the Racing Bulls' team boss argues. "Speed is certainly not the issue. With him, a good year means minimizing mistakes in the first part of the seasons and soon enough, of course, challenging Yuki, pushing Yuki."

Mekies, therefore, wants to make sure the two drivers take each other to the next level. " I think that’s what it is. It’s going to be incredibly competitive behind the top four teams if you allow me to call them like that. And I know we are going to find probably six teams in a couple of tenths and, certainly, the drivers will play a big role in where you stand in that classification."