There is a Mercedes-Red Bull rivalry underway in pretty much every corner of Formula 1. On the track, it’s Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen; Off the track, their bosses, Toto Wolff and Christian Horner.
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And alongside the two intense rivalries, the social media handles of both the teams, too, are joining in to this warfare. Mercedes and Red Bull often find ways to keep the fans engaging with their banters against each other. However, the latest tweet from Red Bull has caused quite the ruffle amongst the fans.
We got by with a little help from our friends 😘😉
Red Bull shared F1’s clipping of the Mexican Grand Prix start and went on to thank their ‘friends’ for the bit of help around turn 1. “We got by with a little help from our friends,” Red Bull captioned.
And ever since this tweet showed up on the feed, fans have been breaking their heads wondering who the ‘friends’ refer to. They seem to be divided at the moment. While a group of fans reckon it’s Daniel Ricciardo, another group point their fingers at Valtteri Bottas.
Let’s decode this tweet, shall we? But before we get on with it, here are some of the replies from the debate.
F1 fans debate over Red Bull’s latest tweet
The best part is that half the replies think you're thanking Bottas and the other half Ricciardo
Everyone talks about Bottas leaving the door open but nobody talks about how early Hamilton braked...
Valterri being your friend? 😅
by friends you mean Valtteri Bottas?
Obviously Bottas opened a passage for Max to pass. Great friend indeed.
What a satisfying Scene Honda cars all over Hamilton 😌 #PoweredByHonda
"Friends" means Daniel? 😂
I love that Merc admin keeps acting like f1 tw stan and being embarressing by liking all those tweets dissing RB, Max, even their own driver and then RB admin comes once in a while here and with a tweet like this
Who actually ‘helped’ Red Bull?
Let’s start with Bottas. As his teammate, Hamilton, and boss, Wolff, accused, Bottas did leave the door open for Verstappen to take control of the racing line.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the track, Hamilton made sure that Sergio Perez doesn’t find a path on the inside. Hence, that was the first help that Red Bull gained, and it arrived from Bottas. Then the second helper, Ricciardo.
Reuters
Formula One F1 – Mexico City Grand Prix – Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Mexico City, Mexico – November 7, 2021 Red Bull’s Max Verstappen leads the Mexico City Gran Prix in the first lap REUTERS/Henry Romero
By the time the cars arrived at turn 1, it looked like Perez might lose a couple of positions to Ricciardo and Gasly. But, then arrived the former Red Bull driver’s rear-ending with Bottas’ Mercedes.
In doing so, Perez found a clear path ahead, and what was supposed to be P6 ended up being P3 in a matter of seconds for the Mexican. Overall, the turn 1 incident did play a crucial role in Red Bull’s ultimate double-podium at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
But, can they make it three-in-a-row at Interlagos this weekend?
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