[ad_1]
(Motorsport-Total.com) – Max Verstappen had exactly one shot at the Eifel Grand Prix at the Nürburgring to steal victory in Lewis Hamilton’s 11th Formula 1 race of the season: at the end of the safety car phase, in the re Start shortly before the end. But Hamilton simply left Verstappen at the crucial moment and Verstappen didn’t get a chance to overtake.
© Motorsport Images
Behind the safety car: Lewis Hamilton could have benefited from the DAS Focus
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner also puts this to a technical advantage for Mercedes. He says: “The safety car waited until the field caught up with it. It was very slow. The tire temperature became a problem. And because of the DAS system, Mercedes may be able to handle it better than us.”
What is Horner referring to by this statement? The so-called biaxial steering on the Mercedes W11, which allows the driver to change the angle of attack of the front wheels from the cab. In theory, Hamilton could have made sure his tires warmed up a bit better than Verstappen’s.
Red Bull feels the connection to Mercedes
Horner considers Verstappen’s performance to be “excellent” even without attacking in the first place and says his driver has once again delivered a “solid” performance. Additionally, Horner acknowledges “progress” at Red Bull, “as if we’ve gotten a little closer to Mercedes,” as he puts it.
Last night: Vettel has “the worm”
Sebastian Vettel was not covered with fame at the Eifel Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, Nico Hülkenberg did … More Formula 1 videos
In fact, Verstappen was just 0.293 seconds short of Valtteri Bottas’ pole time in qualifying. Many times this season the gap was much greater.
“We appeared especially in the first sector [im Vergleich zu Mercedes] Stay ahead, “says Horner.” Sector three, on the other hand, was our weak point. But overall, it was a strong weekend. That is definitely encouraging, especially since there were passages where we were on par with Mercedes or even faster. “
When asked if Red Bull will be able to win this year alone, Horner does not provide a direct answer. It just says, “There are still a few more races to go this year.” Portimao, Istanbul, Imola, “all these are circuits that should be very interesting for us,” explains the team leader. “And we want to finish the season on top.”
