Yuki Tsunoda and VCARB relishing the fight for sixth ahead of F1 Qatar Grand Prix

Following the Singapore Grand Prix, Visa Cash App RB F1 Team was sitting in sixth place in the Formula 1 Constructors’ Championship, three points clear of rivals Haas in that race. Alpine was a distant ninth, 21 points behind VCARB in that race.

What a difference a few race weekends make.

As the grid heads to the Qatar Grand Prix for the penultimate race weekend of the 2024 season, VCARB find themselves sitting eighth in the standings, having seen first Haas, and then Alpine in stunning fashion, eclipse them in the standings. At the moment Haas leads the way in this three-way fight for sixth with 50 points, followed by Alpine with 49, and Haas with 46.

With two Grands Prix left, and an F1 Sprint Race this weekend in Qatar, every lap, and every point, counts.

Yuki Tsunoda is “optimistic” the team can build on the strong trends from the Las Vegas Grand Prix, where he finished ninth.

“From FP2 onwards in Vegas we improved our understanding of how to run the car, which will hopefully continue this weekend,” said Tsunoda in the team’s media preview. “I’m optimistic that we can have another strong race, despite going from a track with long high speed straights and 90 degree turns to one with fast flowing corners. Last year’s very hot conditions in Qatar did not affect me too badly, but with the race a month later this time, the weather seems much nicer.

“Last year, all drivers were only allowed to do a maximum of 18 laps on a set of tyres because of an issue with the kerbs, but that’s been sorted now, so in terms of race strategy, we start with a clean sheet,” added Tsunoda. “There’s only one hour of practice before Sprint quali, so I’m going to be focused on performance so that we can continue to fight for sixth place in the Constructors.”

Liam Lawson, while recalling last season’s brutal Qatar Grand Prix, outlined the additional challenges the teams face this week with the compressed schedule, and the layout of the circuit.

“Qatar is a very tough track that was probably the hardest race I did last year. The temperature last year was pretty warm, so hopefully it will be cooler this year,” said Lawson. “It’s also very high speed, which I’m looking forward to. It’s a Sprint weekend, which makes it challenging; we need to be pushing quite hard, quite early to make sure we’re in a good window for SQ. It’s a weekend where we need to score some points to be in for the fight for P6, so we’ll be making sure we maximise the car as much as we can.”