RaceFans Round-up:

In the round-up: Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies rues the effect Yuki Tsunoda’s crash in qualifying had on their race weekend.

In brief

Tsunoda crash “derailed” RB’s Mexican GP

Mekies said it was “very frustrating to leave Mexico with no points” after Tsunoda crashed again on the first lap of the race and Liam Lawson fell to 16th following his late tangle with Franco Colapinto.

RB had “one of our most competitive weekends in quite a while in terms of pure pace,” said Mekies. However Tsunoda’s crash in Q2 meant both he and Lawson missed the chance to start in the top 10, which left them at a disadvantage for the race.

“Yuki’s crash was costly as the domino effect was that it also prevented Liam from getting to Q3, but that’s motor racing,” said Mekies. “The weekend was derailed from that point onwards and on the opening lap of the race, Yuki was the unfortunate victim of some squeezing, which is the sort of incident that can happen in the midfield.”

FIA toughens up rule on criticising BoP

The FIA has toughened up its regulation forbidding competitors in the World Endurance Championship from criticising the series’ Balance of Performance regulations. The rules allow the series to specify different minimum weight and power levels for each car in an attempt to create close racing.

Updated sporting regulations for the 2025 season extend the existing ban on discussion of the BoP to the process by which it is adjusted. The revised rule, with the new portion in italics, states: “Manufacturers, competitors, drivers and any persons or entities associated with their entries must not seek to influence the establishment of the BoP or comment on the process and/or the results, in particular through public statements, the media and social networks.”

The change comes after Toyota’s team director Rob Leupen was given a suspended fine for his comments about BoP after the Six Hours of Sao Paulo earlier this year.

First F1 Academy champion suspects career is over

Marta Garcia, who won the first edition of Formula 1’s all-female series F1 Academy last year, believes her single-seater career is likely at an end. She formed part of Iron Dames’ entry into the Formula Regional European Championship this year but despite finishing all bar one of the 20 races ended the year without a point.

In a social media post Garcia said her appearance in Sunday’s finale at Monza “is probably my last race in a single seater, at least for the near future.”

“I’m sad, I’m happy, I’m nostalgic. I actually have some tears writing this. I knew the long way it was to come where I am today and I’m so glad for every single time on track. My dream was always get to F1 and this dream will stay forever in me.”

| Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free