Verstappen can count on great words: "He did everything he needed to do"
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- GPblog.com
Mika Hakkinen enjoyed another great performance by Max Verstappen in the Hungarian Grand Prix. The Dutchman had to start the race from the fifth row of the grid at the Hungaroring, but a very strong performance saw him cross the line first. Red Bull Racing was aided by the strategic failure of title rival Ferrari. Hakkinen believes Mattia Binotto should intervene.
"Max’s win was very impressive because he had to start 10th and work his way through the traffic, but he did everything he needed to and the team gave him the right strategy to take the win", Hakkinen comments in his column for Unibet. According to the two-time world champion, a win like this shows how much confidence Max has in himself and the car.
Even when things get tough or they get into trouble, Red Bull has a quick answer. "Even when they hit problems they don’t panic, just focus on recovering quickly." The same cannot be said of Ferrari who, when things get hot under the feet, are prone to making mistakes.
Ferrari must improve
Hakkinen hopes that Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz and the team management will sit down in Maranello this summer to discuss how they can be more aggressive in their battle with Red Bull and try to repel the onslaught of Mercedes. Especially on the strategic front, the F1 analyst says changes need to be made. In the first thirteen Grands Prix of the year, things went horribly wrong.
Last weekend Leclerc was put on mediums twice only to be switched to hard tyres."On Sunday we saw Charles using two sets of medium tyres, then the team move him onto a set of hard tyres which really were the wrong tyre to be on. It was hard to understand that decision, and Charles knew it was the wrong way to go. When the team finally put him onto a set of soft tyres on lap 54 the race was lost and he was not able to recover any positions. This is not the first time we have questioned Ferrari’s mid-race decision making, and it’s an area they will need to work on," he concluded.