Racing Bulls head to China confident after Melbourne downer

Despite the setbacks in Melbourne, both Racing Bulls drivers Yuki Tsunoda and rookie Isack Hadjar remain confident in their package as Formula 1 heads to Shanghai for the first Sprint weekend of the 2025 season.

Hadjar, who crashed out on the warm-up lap, said: “Heading to China, I feel more confident than I did a week ago when I was going to Australia. In Melbourne, I immediately felt comfortable with the car on short runs and in Qualifying, which was one of the targets we had established, based on what we saw at the Bahrain test.

“Of course, I am still lacking race experience, so it’s good that this will be a Sprint weekend, as I will have the short race to get a feel for it before the main one," who will be aiming to at least make the start of the Sprint on Saturday and the Grand Prix on Sunday.

Tsunoda echoed the team’s optimism: “The Shanghai track is quite unique, I do like it and I feel we can have a strong weekend. Our performance level every time we were on track in Melbourne was very good, so if we have a straightforward FP1, picking up where we left off, we can do well. We will have to be fully focused as it’s the first Sprint weekend of the season."

Racing Bulls Racing Director Laurent Mekies acknowledged the team’s frustration in Melbourne but emphasised the importance of making a strong start in Shanghai, given the limited preparation time ahead of the Sprint format.

Mekies said: “After a hectic and ultimately disappointing Sunday in Melbourne, we head directly to Shanghai for round two and the first Sprint weekend of the year. The track layout is a challenging one for the drivers and engineers alike.

“With a variety of corners from hairpins to very high speed with quick changes of direction and a never-ending banked corner onto the 1.2 km back straight, it’s a circuit where tyre degradation tends to be on the high side and overtaking is possible. The main race was a two-stop race strategy in 2024, but the track has been fully resurfaced since then and this could well affect race tyre choices.

"Pirelli will bring one step harder compounds than used in Melbourne, and with just one hour of free practice before Sprint Qualifying on Friday, it’s important to hit the ground running with a near-perfect car setup from lap one," reckoned Mekies.

Racing Bulls will look to put their Melbourne disappointment behind them as they aim for a strong showing in Shanghai, with both Hadjar and Tsunoda eager to capitalise on their car’s obvious performance potential.