[ad_1]
Red Bull does not give up the fight for the world championship
Verstappen is already 47 points short of Hamilton. But team boss Horner explains: “I think this weekend we were closer to Mercedes in general.” Due to its characteristics, the Spa course is more likely to play Mercedes on the cards. It also reminds us that only seven of the 17 races in 2020 have been run. You don’t want to give up just yet.
Horner recalls that he has been an outsider since the first race in Austria. “And we are still losers and we have a chance of losing in the championship,” he clarifies and explains: “Today they were tremendously dominant, but for Max it was the sixth consecutive podium. He is still second in the championship.”
The gap is getting bigger and bigger and now it’s almost the equivalent of two races won.
Mercedes was afraid of the Silverstone repeat
Because they traded Hard so early, Hamilton and Bottas had a very long second season. Toto Wolff explains: “There were no signs of a defect or loss of pressure. But we were slowly losing temperature. [in den Reifen]and that’s a sign of losing rubber. Of course, we remember Silverstone well, and that’s why we lost our rhythm at the end, like Max, to cross the line without any problem. “
Haas: After all, I fought Ferrari …
Yes, Grosjean and Magnussen joined us today, even if you haven’t noticed much. P15 and P17 at the end, he makes the last three positions together with Latifi in the Williams. “This morning we would not necessarily have taken 15th position if it had been offered to us. But we would have agreed to fight the Ferraris,” said Grosjean, who finished just two seconds behind Leclerc. “For us they are a benchmark and we did well in that regard,” explains Grosjean, who only lost 14th to Leclerc on the last lap. At least a little ray of hope.
Kvyat is upset about the wrong strategy
While his teammate ranks eighth and was voted driver of the day, Kvjat is upset. “I think we did not choose the correct strategy today,” he said. While starting at Medium, Gasly started at Hard. “We couldn’t know before the race, that’s why we split the cars, and unfortunately I was wrong in strategy. It would have been better to start with the hard tires,” he shrugs. P11 for him in the end. In the internal duel of the World Cup, Gasly already leads with 18: 2 points.
Hamilton: Verstappen has no help
Indirect criticism of Albon. Hamilton said of Red Bull: “I think they have a very good car […] and Max is doing a great job. Unfortunately, your two drivers are not like Valtteri and me. That makes things difficult for them. I experienced it many years ago when I was the McLaren driver, who was always up front and didn’t have a teammate to support me. “That’s why Verstappen is always alone in the fight against Mercedes. Of course it’s not a secret. Anyone can see that right now, but it’s interesting that even opponents now apparently find Albon too slow …
Racing Point below expectations
P9 and P10 today only for Stroll and Perez. Racing Point had expected more. Stroll talks about a “difficult race” and explains that in the end he lost the tires. That is why it fell back from P7 to P9. According to Pérez, today “there just wasn’t enough pace” to finish later. Team leader Szafnauer also reveals why Pérez was not taken directly to the safety car. So you didn’t know if it was possible to drive with a stop. Therefore, the strategy was divided. Now we know: it worked.
#FragMST
Today Michael wondered why some of the cars were allowed to drive so far off the track. “Can drivers now drive as they want? Almost everyone with the 4 wheels next to the white lines. And that’s after several laps!” He writes. On the subject of track boundaries: In fact, the white lines are not decisive here. As long as the cars are on the curb with at least one tire, that’s fine. Take this photo as an example. Here you should even go a little further. How useful is this rule? Well, we didn’t make it up …
© Motorsport Images
Raikkonen: Best Ferrari Driver
Who would have thought this would be said again in 2020? P12 today for the “Iceman” – in front of the two factory cars. The Finn also explains that today it was not possible to do more. “The car felt good, but P12 was the best we could get. And there are no points for that,” he shrugs. At first, the car entered the anticall, so it lagged behind its companions in the meantime. But the speed was good after that so it went back up.
Regen in Spa
To make everyone really angry again: now it’s raining in Spa. A little late, unfortunately, but not really surprising. Because already at the beginning of the day we talk here in the ticker that the rain in Belgium will probably only come at night. So the weather report was correct this time.
Binotto: There is no crisis at Ferrari
“We are not in a crisis,” says Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto. Even though you are frustrated and disappointed, you are not in a crisis in Maranello. Now it’s about turning this frustration into “determination.” “It is a difficult moment,” admits the Italian, who at least makes it clear that “there is no excuse” for the poor performance at Spa. I ask myself: if this is not a crisis today, then what …?
Milestones for Mercedes
For Mercedes it was the 50th double victory in Formula 1 since the official team returned in the 2010 season. Congratulations! Valtteri Bottas can also be happy: he reached the 51st podium today and now has as many podiums as his compatriot Mika Häkkinen. The difference: Häkkinen was also a two-time world champion …
Vettel: We just weren’t fast enough
In another interview, the four-time world champion was better and reveals: “I tried some things in the race and tried, for example, to get around the car’s problems. But we weren’t fast enough. You can work in a few tenths of a second. “But it was difficult to get a decent pace. We learned a lot and we have to stay calm and not get frustrated. Frustration gets you nowhere.”
The problem: in Monza it should not improve next week, on the contrary. “There are important races for the team in the next two weeks,” says Vettel, explaining: “That’s what we’re focusing on. But we also have to be realistic. You can’t expect miracles. The package is what it is. We’re not like that. So strong as we would like to be. We have to be optimistic and see the good things, even if there are not many. “
Accident in the video
You can see Giovinazzi and Russell’s accident again in the video here. The Williams driver was very lucky there. The tire could have hit you differently. Fortunately, we now have Halo for exactly those cases.
Warning for Racing Point
You already know from previous races: the team received a warning again today for using the well-known brake ventilation. As is well known, there is this in every race, but for the sake of integrity we mention it again today. There are no consequences.
Leclerc: “Extremely frustrating” race
From the big winner to the big loser. When asked if his race was frustrating, Leclerc replied: “Extremely frustrating. It was a very difficult weekend for us. The race was no easier. We had problems with mine at both pit stops, which meant I lost. some time and positions. ” Then I tried to catch up, but it’s hard for us to overtake even with DRS. We have to work and find something. It’s very difficult that way. “
Would two stops have been an option?
“I think, [Red Bull] I would have made us one [zweiten] It can force a stop, “says Wolff on ‘Sky,’ explaining:” At some point we were just 1.2 seconds ahead of Max. The scour distance would have been two seconds. There I would have a position [gegen Bottas] he won and probably would have gotten to Lewis in the end. Then we would have brought Lewis too. There would have been the risk of finishing P1 and P3 at the end. “Without pressure, however, it was not a serious option for Mercedes to brake again.
Wolff: “I had no more rubber”
“In terms of pace, I think it was good. We had reservations. In the end, however, the one-stop strategy was totally marginal. We ran out of rubber. Endless vibrations, including Verstappen,” reveals the Mercedes team boss in the ‘ORF’ and explains: “Of course, tires can change from one second to another [kaputt-]Let’s go. You have a flat tire and then you lose the race. So there was a little shaking in the last five or six laps. “
“The safety car phase did not hurt because we were able to hold our positions. However, he made an early change to [anderen] Activated tire. That’s why it was so critical at the end, “he explains, adding:” You saw it at the end: Ricciardo was sometimes three seconds faster than the first three. That’s the pace that was possible, but then you can’t risk it anymore. “
It was enough.
