RB representative Yuki Tsunoda and Ricciardo’s DNF at F1 Chinese GP is “hard to swallow”[F1-Gate.com]

RB team principal Laurent Mequise said he was “very disappointed” in the F1 China Grand Prix, which ended in the double retirement of Hiroki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo. Daniel Ricciardo was rear-ended by Lance Stroll at Shanghai’s Turn 14 hairpin as he prepared for a safety car restart, sustaining catastrophic race-ending damage. Immediately afterwards, teammate Hiroki Tsunoda was involved in an accident where he was spun by Haas’s Kevin Magnussen, forcing him to retire as well.

In an interview with RacingNews365, Meckies regretted missing out on the chance to score points at the Shanghai International Circuit. “I’m very disappointed because both of our cars were retired within a minute of each other in separate accidents by our competitors,” said Laurent Méquise. “It’s very disappointing. I think we had the strength to fight for 10th place. We were in that battle and Daniel had been driving strongly up until then. “I feel like I was in good shape to fight for that position with Nico (Hülkenberg). That’s the reality. It’s not the drivers’ fault, but we lost that chance. So I know I have to accept it and move on.” Focusing on the positives RB has two top-10 finishes in the opening five races, with Yuki Tsunoda achieving his season’s best at the Australian Grand Prix. It achieved 7th place. Despite missing out on a points opportunity at the Chinese Grand Prix, Mekies is stressing the positives despite the disappointing result. “It’s definitely a tough pill to swallow, but we have to think positively,” Mekies said. “The positive was that we had time to fight for P10 again. “Every weekend it’s a battle for the last tenth of a second to be in that battle, and this weekend was no different. “We had a slow start on Friday, but we managed to recover throughout the weekend, so that’s a positive.”