Reuters
Formula One F1 – French Grand Prix – Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet, France – June 20, 2021 Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton on the podium after finishing in second place REUTERS/Eric Gaillard
Reuters
Formula One F1 – French Grand Prix – Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet, France – June 20, 2021 Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton on the podium after finishing in second place REUTERS/Eric Gaillard
Styrian Grand Prix, the home of Red Bull Racing, is all set to begin in less than a week’s time. And similar to last year, the circuit will be hosting two back-to-back race weekends. Hence, one might think, Mercedes, and particularly Lewis Hamilton, will be yearning to get the pacy W12 on the track considering their successful 2020 outing.
However, that doesn’t seem to be the case at the moment. The Briton, despite being the race winner in Styria, isn’t anticipating anything special this time around. Why you might ask?
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Well, the 7-time world champion is wary of Red Bull’s straight-line speed, which is highly likely to dampen Mercedes’ chances of securing their first race win since Barcelona.
What did Lewis Hamilton say?
As reported by Sky Sports, Hamilton reckoned that the “power-hungry circuit” in Spielberg will favor Red Bull quite evidently.
“It’s a power-hungry circuit, it’s got those long long straights. So we could see something similar [to France] – obviously with the straight-line speed of the Red Bull,” Hamilton said following the French GP.
Reuters
Formula One F1 – French Grand Prix – Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet, France – June 20, 2021 Red Bull’s Max Verstappen celebrates with sparkling wine on the podium after winning the race alongside second placed Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and third placed Red Bull’s Sergio Perez REUTERS/Yves Herman
The gap between himself and Max Verstappen is widening with each passing weekend. And as it stands, the Dutchman is 12 point adrift of his rival on the championship table.
What’s more, Sergio Perez, too, is steadily inching closer to Hamilton with the gap now down to 35 points. Hence, it could only be a matter of time before Hamilton starts feeling the heat from behind as well.
Read More: Why Do Mercedes Dominate F1?
We can give them a run for their money: Hamilton
Despite the underlying drawbacks, Hamilton is hoping that he could compete against both the Red Bull drivers. However, to lap as fast as the bulls, the Briton felt that his team will need to maximize “absolutely everything“.
“But we’ve got three days to try and see if we can make any adjustments and improvements and maybe if we maximise absolutely everything maybe we can give them a run for their money,” he said.
Reuters
Formula One F1 – French Grand Prix – Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet, France – June 20, 2021 Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas in action during the race REUTERS/Eric Gaillard
The race weekends in Austria are likely to produce erratic weather throughout, with rains constantly on cards. And this could be Mercedes’ only hope of pulling back Red Bull from going too far off on the points table.
Hence, can the Brackley outfit manage to deliver strong results on the high-speed Red Bull Ring circuit? Well, we’ll know soon enough.
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