Yahoo Autos Mekies confident there’s more to come from Tsunoda
RB team principal Laurent Mekies is confident there is even more to come from Yuki Tsunoda after extending his contract through the 2025 season.
Tsunoda has been one of the standout performers of the 2024 season so far, scoring points in five of the nine races this year and generally getting the better of teammate Daniel Ricciardo. Mekies was impressed by the progress Tsunoda made from last year to this, but says the team sees even more potential in the 24-year-old that it wants to unlock.
“What is stopping us from sleeping at night is making sure we have the environment for the weeks, months, years to come, that ensure that we get Yuki to have another step,” Mekies told RACER. “Or more than one step. We don’t want him to stop now, we think there is more in Yuki.
“Even though he is already at an incredible level, we think there is more to come for what he is showing. So we just have to make sure we have the right mix of constructive dynamics and aggression to make sure we get those steps out of him.”
Tsunoda himself is confident that step forward will come, and has felt the transition at RB from former boss Franz Tost to Mekies has been a smooth one that has also helped his own performances.
“In terms of team principal, Franz and Laurent feel quite similar to be honest,” Tsunoda said. “They give me quite a lot, we have natural chats every morning whenever we meet, and I feel massive support from both, which I really appreciate.
“One thing that has been a positive change as a team is that it feels like the whole engineering team and the mechanics have become more connected to each other. So the philosophy that Laurent wants to achieve was maybe a different approach to Franz, and has helped the team to be a bit more together.
“That connection, for me, is very important, and I value it quite a lot. It gives us some extra motivation to work as a team in the same direction and make sure we are on the same page with every detail. I try to be aligned with those things.”
