Visa RB has had a disappointing second half of the season so far. Despite the Red Bull subsidiary team amassing thirty-four points earlier this year, both Tsunoda and Ricciardo have failed to finish in the top ten since the summer break. Former engineer and Formula 1 analyst, Kees van de Grint, questions team boss Laurent Mekies, who made a peculiar impression during the Singapore GP.
Van de Grint finds it peculiar that Visa RB chose to fit soft tires on Daniel Ricciardo’s car in the final stages. As a result, the team snatched the World Championship point for the fastest race lap from McLaren – a move that primarily benefits ‘big brother’ Red Bull. According to Van de Grint, this indicates a lack of strategy at Visa RB, which seems to be acting merely as a support for Max Verstappen.
‘Is that man drunk?’
“Laurent Mekies was talking nonsense,” Van de Grint said in the Viaplay program In the Slipstream. “I saw an interview with him yesterday and thought: ‘Is that man drunk?’ That’s what I really thought. He was talking about ‘a good strategy’ and ‘we’re going to do all sorts of things’. Well, I didn’t see that strategy with soft tires somewhere in the back of the field.”
The question is whether Visa RB will perform better in the next race in Austin. By that time, the Italian team may be using a new driver; according to experts, Ricciardo drove his last race in Singapore and will soon be replaced by Liam Lawson. Meanwhile, Visa RB should fear for the sixth place in the constructors’ championship; the Haas team is dangerously close. The Americans are only three points behind their competitors from Faenza.
