Mekies recalls 'painful' reminder in search for 'massive' RB improvement

RB team principal Laurent Mekies has highlighted his squad's need for “massive” improvement if it wishes to fight further up the pecking order.

After the opening 14 rounds of the current campaign, RB sit sixth in the constructors' championship.

The 36 points to its name has already usurped its entire tally from last year's campaign which saw it end the standings in eighth place.

Speaking exclusively to RacingNews365, Mekies detailed fundamental advancements to the car must be made before it is ready to make further steps.

“Let me put it this way - what can be improved? There is no hiding the fact that what's underneath still needs to be massively improved.

“So well done to the guys for the spirits, for the energy, for the collaborations for nailing the race weekends, for making baby steps with the car in the right direction to give us the points.

“Do we have enough ground underneath [us] to go and fight where we are currently fighting or better? Probably not. So we need to build that. The last few races were a good reminder. 

“Everybody is going to come back. Haas is not really fast, Sauber is not very fast. Williams will come [back] no doubt because they are probably on a similar journey to ours. They are probably in their second year, we are in the first year but it’s a similar type of journey.

“So therefore what needs to be massively improved is that and we need to make sure that we keep the focus on that midterm [goal] as much as you have the pressure of the races.”

RB's painful reminder

RB introduced a sizeable upgrade to the car in Barcelona, however the new parts failed to deliver performance.

Mekies added the squad's early season form which saw it score two P7 results in the opening six races serves as a painful reminder of what it can achieve.

“Zooming on to the challenging moments, we obviously had difficulties with our Barcelona updates. 

“We were coming from a very strong string of races, we were hoping to add performance to the car, we didn't add performance on the car. 

“But that’s exactly what we can’t forget about, the first month. It’s a painful but necessary reminder that we will be fast and consistent only by building a stronger base.

“So it's good to go through these complex moments and tough moments together. 

“Even if our competitors are certainly catching up, we feel we will have the opportunity to fight back in the second part of the year.”