Actually, the people in charge at Red Bull could look in a good mood and relaxed at the last six races in the world championship title fight against Mercedes. After finishing second in Turkey, Max Verstappen has taken the lead again, six points ahead of arch-rival Lewis Hamilton.
But the worry lines among the Austrians are growing. Their motorsport director Helmut Marko explains to ABMS “Mercedes was simply too superior in Turkey. In wet conditions Max Verstappen should normally have had no problem beating Bottas. But in Istanbul he didn’t have a chance to keep up with Hamilton’s teammates. “
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Red Bull was still lucky when it came to Hamilton. Background: The Brit started from eleventh place after an engine change that earned him ten starting positions. Marko: “Our AlphaTauri junior Yuki Tsunoda stopped him brilliantly at the beginning of the race. Had he got past there faster, he might even have won the race. Because if he had made it behind Bottas, there would have been a change of place for sure. “
Mercedes made a huge leap forward, especially at top speed, says Marko: “Your speed on the straight puzzles us. Sometimes they drove 15 km / h faster than us. It’s like night and day. And that, although they put more downforce on the rear wing than we did. “
Mercedes made a giant leap, especially at top speed, says Dr. Helmut Marko.
It is therefore noticeable: “Especially with empty tanks, they are vastly superior to us. At the beginning of the race we are still at eye level. That is why Hamilton did so hard against Tsunoda. Later, when Hamilton ran up on Gasly, Tsunoda’s AlphaTauri teammate; d. Red.), He left it standing as if he were parking. “
Red Bull’s technicians are now required. Marko accepts the FIA’s response to a Red Bull request that Mercedes is clean. “I don’t think Mercedes did anything illegal,” he admits. “But something has been weird since Silverstone. So it is now up to us to research why they are suddenly so fast. Is it just the engine or something else? We now have to work day and night to uncover its secret and then counter it. As quickly as possible. It is up to us.”
Otherwise it looks rather bleak with the world title. Marko: “If the differences in performance remain the same as in Istanbul, we will have a problem. Of the six racetracks, only the courses in Mexico and Sao Paulo play a part in our cards because of their altitude. At the moment the rest clearly seems to be Mercedes-Land. “
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As a first measure, the chassis is put through its paces by Max Verstappen. “That wasn’t ideal in Istanbul,” explains Marko. “Max constantly complained about understeer that we just couldn’t get away.” So it cannot be ruled out that the Dutchman will drive with a new chassis at the next race in Austin. Marko doesn’t let his head hang: “We’re going to keep fighting. It is also positive how relaxed Max is dealing with the current situation. He remains very calm and only points out the disadvantages that he has at the moment. “
Formula 1 on TV
Formula 1 will run at Sky in 2021. The station is setting up its own TV station for the new era: Sky Formula 1. Here there is motorsport 24 hours a day. All training sessions, all qualifying sessions, all races always live and without commercial breaks. Sky also broadcasts the Formula 2, Formula 3 and Porsche Supercup races. The program also includes historical races and special programs. You can find more information here
