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Red Bull Honda F1 finished the session in “fixed position” in the second row after Mercedes in qualifying for the Bahrain GP 2020 F1. However, there is a small chance that the situation will change in the final.
Seven-time F1 world champion Luis Hamilton achieved his 10th pole position this season with a spectacular career that marked purple times in all sectors in qualifying for the Bahrain F1 GP. His teammate Bartelli Bottas also came second and Mercedes dominated the front row. Max Felstappen finished qualifying in the “fixed position” of 3rd place, 0.414 seconds behind pole.
Max Felstappen, who had set the fastest time in FP3, was second to enter the Mercedes in the first race of qualifying Q3, but had problems with the rear grip on the soft tires, making it his last. In the end, I got over Bartelli Bottas. The difference was 0.125 seconds.
Mercedes F1, especially Luis Hamilton, was out of reach in qualifying, but it may not be that different in the final.
This weekend, Mercedes prioritized getting as much knowledge of Pirelli’s 2021 tires as possible in two practices on Friday. For champions who have already won both titles and are focusing on developing next season’s machines, it might help to find more advantages next season, but the racing paces and machines that are usually the focus on Friday. There was plenty of room for setup work.
The qualifying round didn’t seem to have much of an impact on the power map, but the compromise could affect Mercedes’ performance on Sunday. In fact, drivers are also wary of it.
“I think we compromised this weekend’s performance to find out what the tires could be for next year,” explained Bartelli Bottas after qualifying.
“We won the Constructors ‘title and Lewis won the Drivers’ title, so the team should focus on the future.”
“I’m sure I’ve made some compromises by testing different tires. It’s harder for the drivers to find the rhythm. I was a little short of long runs on my current tires.
“I think we still have a strong machine, but as always there are question marks and I think Red Bull is quite good at race pace.”
As one consequence of Friday’s Mercedes having an exceptional schedule, Luis Hamilton and Bartelli Bottas ended up in a “quite different setup” to compete in the race.
Luis Hamilton claims he feels “there wasn’t much of a commitment” when it comes to the qualifying setup, but Mercedes’ decision to focus on the 2021 tires led to a race pace compared to Red Bull. I admit that there are still some unclear points.
“I didn’t actually do a long race on medium or hard tires, so it would be interesting to see what happens tomorrow,” said Lewis Hamilton.
Still, looking at Friday’s long-term data verbatim, Mercedes seemed to have a slight advantage over Red Bull. On average, the Red Bull Honda F1 was just 0.1 seconds slower per lap. If that turned into a Sunday race, the Red Bull Honda F1 could have a chance to win.
The Bahrain International Circuit has a high level of degradation and Pirelli believes that two stops will be the mainstream. It is also a circuit with many overtaking opportunities. This time around, Alexander Alban is also on the fourth grid, which could add another element to the strategy.
After qualifying, Felstappen said: “I’ll see what I can do tomorrow.” “This is quite an aggressive race for the tires, so I hope it will be a very interesting race.”
Category: F1 / Red Bull / Honda f1 / F1 Burlane GP
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