F1 News
Newey: "Mercedes must have found some extra kilowatts recently"
- GPblog.com
Red Bull Racing failed to live up to expectations in qualifying at the Hungaroring. Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez will start from the second row, behind both Mercedes drivers. How is it possible that Mercedes is suddenly faster than Red Bull on the straights?
Red Bull falls short of Mercedes on the straight
After having the faster car for several races in a row, Red Bull lost out to Mercedes on Friday and Saturday. On Friday, the team lost three mph to the German stable on the straights, reports Auto, Motor und Sport. Verstappen also faced problems with understeer.
When Red Bull started to get out of reach for Mercedes, the latter started to complain about advantages their rivals had. First it was the rear wing, for which the FIA introduced new tests. Then Toto Wolff and Lewis Hamilton complained about the power Red Bull supposedly suddenly gained. Now it seems to be Mercedes that has more power, but according to Adrian Newey Red Bull has not turned the engines down. "We are running with the same amount of power as before. Mercedes must have found some extra kilowatts recently," explains the CTO of Red Bull Racing.
Mercedes hold the best cards for Hungarian GP
On paper, Mercedes hold the best cards for the Hungarian Grand Prix. Not only are Hamilton and Bottas on the front row of the grid, but they will also start on the medium tyre, giving them the luxury of going for a one-stop strategy. Red Bull, whose drivers will both start on softs, will probably have to opt for a two-stopper due to the expected heat.
A few weeks ago, Red Bull could have afforded to take the gamble on mediums in Q2. However, that risk was too great given Verstappen's gap to Hamilton in the championship, which Mercedes almost completely closed at Silverstone.