The Latest Breaking News from Laurent Mekies

If there is one element that characterises Formula 1's current era, it may well be the unpredictable form curves that fluctuate more than they did before 2022.

RB looked set to be the best of the rest in Formula 1's 2024 midfield, even overtaking Aston Martin as the fifth-fastest team. But in recent races the Anglo-Italian squad has struggled to sustain that trajectory, with its wide-ranging Barcelona upgrades sending it up the wrong path.

Tsunoda was labelled a fast but slightly inconsistent hothead upon his F1 arrival in 2021 at the tender age of 20, going viral because of his expletive-laden radio messages. But with it being easier to calm a fast driver down than it is to make a consistently average driver faster,…

Tsunoda was labelled a fast but slightly inconsistent hothead upon his F1 arrival in 2021 at the tender age of 20, going viral because of his expletive-laden radio messages.

With Sergio Perez signing a new deal at Red Bull alongside Max Verstappen, Tsunoda saw his slim chances of being promoted to the main team vanish, and the Japanese driver was widely expected to remain at RB instead.

With Sergio Perez signing a new deal at Red Bull alongside Max Verstappen, Tsunoda saw his slim chances of being promoted to the main team vanish, and the Japanese driver was widely expected to remain at RB instead.

The early running in 2024 seemed to indicate a relatively clear pecking order. Red Bull is on top, followed by Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren. Aston Martin was the clear fifth-best team, not quite able to hang with the rest of the top five on race pace, but still easily clear…

The team’s VCARB 01 F1 car is showing impressive speed in qualifying – with its two cars having got into Q3 at Imola last weekend – but its race chances are being hurt by poor getaways.

The team’s VCARB 01 is showing some impressive speed in qualifying – with its two cars having got into Q3 at Imola last weekend – but its race chances are being hurt by poor getaways.

On a weekend where Red Bull had to adjust its ride height set-ups considerably to cope with the RB20's ongoing dislike for kerbs, Perez's crash late in FP3 meant Max Verstappen went into qualifying without any flying lap preparation on the soft tyres.

The Faenza-based squad has found itself locked in an intense fight with Haas for supremacy of the five-squad chasing pack that is behind F1's top teams of Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes and Aston Martin.