![]() With weather conditions expected to be hot, the prospect of another win is not out of the question should Mercedes struggle again with tyres. What will be a positive heading into the Spanish Grand Prix though is the chance at victory. Team principal Christian Horner was very upbeat following the 70th Anniversary GP win, and it could be because a weakness in the previously impenetrable Mercedes armour has now been found.Īlex Albon put in a much-improved performance on Sunday but his distant Saturday efforts will need to be eradicated sooner rather than later.ĭespite putting in some stunning overtakes, he has often been left with too much to do on race day this season his team-mate showing the car’s potential by causing headaches for the race leaders ahead. With a DNF on his record from round one in Austria, he has responded brilliantly to record a podium finish at each of the subsequent races, splitting the Mercedes drivers in Hungary and proving by far the best of the rest at the Styrian and British Grands Prix. The fact that Verstappen could be considered a credible championship challenger this season speaks to how good the Dutchman has been in exploiting the maximum from an unruly RB16 this year. None of us is happy with the result.”Ĭould Red Bull and Verstappen fight with Mercedes in Spain?Ĭlive Mason - Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images “It’s clear that he’s not happy and I totally respect that. I think we just had a slower car today, and you have to just admit that. “I don’t think we were sleeping but I accept his perspective. Valtteri Bottas was less than enthused with his team’s strategy during the second race at Silverstone, claiming that Mercedes was caught “sleeping” by Red Bull, which Wolff denied. Ominous words for rivals, then, with Mercedes having lost just once in Spain during the turbo-hybrid era. ![]() These days where we lose are the days where we learn the most.” “We have a handful of days to assess, come up with solutions, test them on the Friday in Barcelona and hopefully have a better race on Sunday. “It comes down to the fact that we have a car with high downforce, and obviously when conditions change, and parameters change like temperatures going up, compounds getting softer, pressures going up, we have to acknowledge that the Red Bull is a pretty fast car – and that’s what we have seen today. “I think we had indications in the past that our relative gap was not as large to our competitors when it was hot. “The win was not there for us, clearly we were not the fastest car,” was Wolff’s assessment post-race. Having looked more than capable of winning every race this season, the reigning champions had to settle for the first runner-up places, and exposed a potential Achilles heel that’s open to attack until it identifies - and solves - the root causes of its tyre woes. It says everything that second and third in the 70th Anniversary GP was looked upon with such disappointment by Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff. Lewis Hamilton inspects the tyres that cost Mercedes victory last weekend Here is the team-by-team guide ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix. The result made Verstappen Lewis Hamilton‘s closest challenger in the championship, his advantage in the standings remaining at 30 points but his team-mate Valtteri Bottas slipped down to third a further four points adrift.Ĭharles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel‘s Jekyll and Hyde weekends at Silverstone will be under analysis at Maranello after the latter was left with no clue as to the pace differential between the pair. Sign up SubscribeĬan Valtteri Bottas outscore his team-mate? Sign-up now for access to a limited number of articles.
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