RB eager to confirm its improved form from Hungary

The Visa Cash RB outfit heads to Spa-Francorchamps in the hope of being able to replicate the performance it showed at last weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix.

The Faenza-based outfit struggled for pace in the early summer rounds, but some improvements to the VCARB01 saw the team raise its bar again.

This improved pace saw the small Italian team re-establish itself as the leader of the midfield with both Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo making the cut into the last qualifying segment on last Saturday.

Reflecting on his time at the Hungaroring, Tsunoda noted: “We really turned things around in Hungary.

“The whole team worked very hard to give us an improved car and we were particularly happy with how we managed the tyres in the race, which meant we were the only car to make a one-stop strategy work, that was really the key to score points.

"It was brilliant strategy and teamwork! That last race was a real confidence boost, so I’m keen to see what we can do in Spa which is obviously a very different type of track.

Speaking of the challenges posed by the Spa track, the Japanese driver added: "Driving Spa is always special and I particularly enjoy the elevation changes, the way the track climbs and drops, which we don’t experience at many tracks during the year. Most of the corners are high speed, very challenging, kind of old school.

"We often get mixed conditions in terms of the weather, it could be a bit like the weekend in Silverstone, where we did a lot of laps in the wet, so that gives me confidence if we have rain this time.”

His team-mate Daniel Ricciardo displayed a strong performance all through the weekend, topping the first qualifying segment. Although the Australian secured P9 on the grid, a supoptimal strategy decision saw him spend the majority of the race stuck behind traffic.

“After a tough Sunday in Budapest, I’m looking forward to Spa even more. We showed a good turn of speed last week, so I’m confident we can continue that in Belgium and push for points on Sunday.”

Expanding on his team's prospects for the Spa race, team boss Laurent Mekies insists that his outfit needs to target to dominate the midfield again.

“The team turned a corner in Hungary, competitive once again after a few challenging races. Therefore it’s good that we have one more opportunity this weekend in Belgium before the summer break to confirm a return to the form we showed earlier in the season.

"Last weekend wasn’t perfect though, but I believe we should focus on the positives: good pace right from Friday, both cars in Q3, dominating the midfield once again, which has always been our stated aim for this season.

"The only teams that finished ahead of Yuki last Sunday were the top four. As usual, Spa will ask its tough questions, with its unique high speed nature, the length of the lap and the variable weather.

"We need to further step up and get a good result, so that we can carry a positive mindset into the holidays and on to the second part of the championship," concluded Mekies.