"Verstappen could have won by 16 seconds'

Could Verstappen have won?

Verstappen himself didn't value it that much after the race, but according to many, Verstappen would have won the race easily if he hadn't gone to the pit to go for the fastest lap. Lewis Hamilton had to do a full lap on three tyres and Verstappen had caught up with him just ten seconds behind him anyway.

The criticism was that Verstappen himself had been driving on his tyres for a long time and that there was no direct indication that his tyres were going to break down as well. After all, the three drivers were driving on tyres that were about the same age and relatively close to each other.

F1 analysis

The official F1 website emphasises once again that Verstappen was actually brought in at the end of lap fifty because Red Bull Racing was afraid of a flat tyre. The team found no less than fifty cuts in the Dutchman's tyres. He took the fastest lap and finished five seconds from Hamilton in P2.

The F1 calculated that Verstappen would have won by sixteen seconds if he had stayed outside and the rest would have happened as such. So there was a big chance that his tire would have exploded just like the others. However, with the margin of 16 seconds he could have opted for a slower pace to save the tyres.

If Verstappen had done this, he would have had to have taken 6.6 seconds in pace for the two laps after Bottas his puncture. Even then, Verstappen would have overtaken Hamilton exactly at the finish line.