Mercedes on another level compared to Red Bull; difference seven tenths in race
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General
- GPblog.com
Red Bull Racing is clearly the second team this weekend at the Grand Prix at Silverstone. Mercedes is miles away, according to an analysis of the official Formula 1 channels, while the race team in midfield are unlikely to threaten the Austrian team of Max Verstappen and Alexander Albon.
In one lap the difference between Red Bull and Mercedes is about nine-tenths. Verstappen said after the two free practice sessions that he might have to watch out for teams like Racing Point, Ferrari, McLaren or Renault, but probably Red Bull has a margin of about three tenths towards these teams.
Mercedes also unapproachable on Sunday
Saturday afternoon Verstappen will, in any case, do everything possible to survive Q2 with the medium tyres. That would mean that the 22-year-old Limburger can start with his RB16 on the yellow compound in the race. The softs are very sensitive to overheating and so the teams want to ignore as much as possible. The difference between the softs and mediums is only a few tenths this weekend and so it seems to be achievable for Verstappen.
It would, in any case, make for a better starting position on Sunday, but it remains to be seen exactly how much Red Bull will get out of that. Mercedes will drive away again, as they are seven-tenths a lap faster in the long runs. Red Bull's gap to number three Racing Point is about six tenths, so it looks like it's going to be another lonely race for Verstappen.
But where does Red Bull lose so much ground on its biggest competitor? In the slow corners, the Milton Keynes-based team has already lost about four-tenths. In high-speed corners the difference is about 0.3 seconds, while in medium-speed corners it's half a tenth. On the straights, the difference is just over two tenths.