The Latest Breaking News from Laurent Mekies

The team’s VCARB 01 is showing some impressive speed in qualifying – with its two cars having got into Q3 at Imola last weekend – but its race chances are being hurt by poor getaways.

On a weekend where Red Bull had to adjust its ride height set-ups considerably to cope with the RB20's ongoing dislike for kerbs, Perez's crash late in FP3 meant Max Verstappen went into qualifying without any flying lap preparation on the soft tyres.

RB’s hopes of a points finish in Shanghai were dashed within a dramatic few moments in Sunday’s race after Ricciardo was hit from behind by Lance Stroll behind the safety car, while Tsunoda was involved in a race-ending clash with Kevin Magnussen at the restart.

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The early races have suggested that Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes and Aston Martin are set to dominate the top 10 in both qualifying and races, leaving everyone else to challenge for rare opportunities to break into the points.

The RB team is fielding an all-Japanese line-up in first free practice with Iwasa joining regular driver Yuki Tsunoda in the VCARB 01 in their home round.

RB man Tsunoda broke through the apparent barrier between F1's top and bottom five teams by beating both Aston Martins in Melbourne qualifying. He also outqualified Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton by claiming eighth on the starting grid, just narrowly behind Mercedes' George Russell. The Japanese driver couldn't keep the faster Astons…

The team’s headquarters will remain in Faenza, Italy, where it has been based since Minardi was founded in the late 1970s, but it will vacate the diminutive aerodynamics site in Bicester.

The team’s headquarters will remain in Faenza, Italy, where it has been based since Minardi was founded in the late 1970s, but it will vacate the diminutive aerodynamics site in Bicester.