Prost compares: 'Max and Red Bull in better shape at the moment'.
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- GPblog.com
The title race in 2021 is still very exciting, both for drivers and constructors. Red Bull Racing and Mercedes have a car that is very close to each other and so the Grands Prix are won on details. Still, Alain Prost, advisor of Alpine, thinks that the team of Max Verstappen has a better race going than his German rival.
The former world champion hints at this in the F1 Nation podcast. Verstappen's lead over rival Lewis Hamilton is just four points. The double-zero finish puts Red Bull 26 points ahead in the team championship after six Grands Prix.
Red Bull has better second driver
"I think that Red Bull and Max are in better shape today. But it is always a long system and can always change," Prost said the week before the French Grand Prix. Where Valtteri Bottas seems to be diminishing by the week, the opposite is true of Sergio Perez. "Sergio Perez is starting to do a good job so can help. Valtteri is in a very difficult physiological situation and it must be tough to be in a team like this."
In recent seasons, Red Bull has always had to come from very far away and so the world title was effectively out of sight by the time the summer break came around. In 2021 that is different and so they now lead in both World Championships. "They had ups and downs," observes Prost, who, on the contrary, thinks Mercedes looks weaker now. "Mercedes now make small mistakes and misunderstandings. Also some nervous reactions from Toto, I've never seen that before.
Red Bull must still wait for luck
The 66-year-old Alpine chief argues that Verstappen just hasn't had the luck of the champion yet this season. That still seems to be the case with Hamilton a little more, but according to Prost it's just a matter of time. "If Red Bull start to do the right job everywhere then the luck will turn up," he concludes.