The Visa Cash App RB F1 Team left Monza empty-handed after a frustrating weekend with both Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda finishing outside the points, with Tsunoda retiring early in the Italian Grand Prix after contact with Nico Hulkenberg.
The team now has its sights set on the Baku City Circuit, with scoring points being the main target on Ricciardo's mind.
“I'm looking forward to Baku, it's a proper track and, like any street circuit, we need to find the limit quickly,” said Ricciardo during the team's media preview for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. “I know the team in Faenza is pushing hard and I'm looking forward to trying the new floor this weekend. It will be a good challenge but I'm confident we can score some points.”
Ricciardo has had previous success in Azerbaijan, including a win at the 2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, while Tsunoda has scored points twice, including a seventh place in his rookie season and a 10th place last season.
“I like the Baku street track because of its unusual combination of a very long high-speed section from the last right-hand corner all the way to Turn 1 and a very tight section through the old town,” Tsunoda said. “In the past, this track has suited our car and we've scored points there twice. The walls are close so you have to be very precise, but this year we moved part of the wall back to add an opening to clear cars that are stopped on the track. That may be why the probability of a safety car, which is usually very common here, is reduced. Just like in the next track, Singapore, it's a busy track with a lot of gear changes.”
VCARB technical director Jody Eggington outlined how the team will evaluate the upgraded floor, which debuted this week at the last Italian Grand Prix.
“We have a very busy test programme for this race, with the usual set-up and tyre work we do at every event, plus some important tests planned to learn more and optimise the car, particularly around the new floor package that we first evaluated at Monza,” said Egginton. “As for the battle in the midfield, it remains very tight but we are focused on extracting the most we can from the car with the aim of fighting for points with both drivers.”
As for that battle, VCARB currently holds a six-point lead over Haas in the battle for sixth place in the constructors' championship, but with Ricciardo and Tsunoda having had previous success in Baku, and with veteran Kevin Magnussen serving a one-race suspension and youngster Oliver Bearman filling in for him, this week is a real chance for VCARB to close the gap in that battle.
