Red Bull

Hamilton admits Red Bull are ‘too quick’ after Friday practice

Kevin Peterson03 mins

Mercedes team secured a one-two in the first practice session at the Mexican Grand Prix on Friday, but that glory was short-lived as Red Bull’s Max Verstappen outperformed both Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas in FP2. The defending world champion got candid about the situation and admitted that his championship rival may simply be too quick this weekend. The Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez has always seen strong performances from the Red Bull, and this weekend may not be any different. Hamilton knows that he needs to step up his game, with even his teammate Bottas trumping him in both the practice sessions so far. More significantly, Verstappen was half a second quicker in FP2. “They’re definitely too quick for us at the moment,” Lewis Hamilton said after the session, before adding that he still feels like they have a strong chance to keep pace with the Red Bulls. “The car has been feeling OK. I’ve not really had any major issues,” he said. Lewis Hamilton is always one to stay positive, but his honest assessment reveals that the Red Bulls currently have an advantage. “We’re giving it absolutely everything we’ve got, and I think they are just quicker than us at the moment,” he said, before pointing to their lack of downforce as a possible culprit. He then assured that the Mercedes team will be busy finding a solution to the pace disadvantage. Bottas also spoke up and complained about low grip on his car. He said that it was a dusty track and that made things more difficult for him and his teammate. Nevertheless, practice pace is often not necessarily reflective of race pace. The Mercedes drivers have always been strong for the long haul on Sunday, and the tight results of the practice sessions make it impossible to predict which team will be dominant on Saturday qualifying and on the main race on Sunday.

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130,000 fans show up in central Mexico to see Perez

Kevin Peterson02 mins

Red Bull driver Sergio Perez demonstrated Red Bull’s title-winning RB7 along the Paseo de la Reforma and around the iconic El Ángel de la Independencia. Perez ended Mexico’s 50-year wait for a Formula 1 victory last season when he triumphed for Racing Point at the Sakhir Grand Prix. Perez switched to Red Bull Racing for 2021 and added a second career win in Azerbaijan. He was joined at the event by Mexican riders Didier Goirand and Ivan Ramirez, along with rally driver Benito Guerra. “It feels amazing to back here in Mexico City, I never really imagined a moment like this, I think as an athlete and a driver you always think about being on track making memories, but today was crazy, we took over Mexico City,” said Perez. “It was such a special way to start my home Grand Prix weekend. Everyone was full of energy and the people have been amazing, even camping here since last night. “I am really looking forward to seeing all the fans back at track this weekend too. “My ambitions for this weekend are to be in the mix to win the race on Sunday and it would mean everything to me to come out on top in Mexico.”

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Mercedes rear suspension is not ‘illegal’- Mattia Binotto

Kevin Peterson04 mins

Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto says there is nothing “wrong or illegal” with the rear suspension of Mercedes’ W12. Mercedes’ suspension made headlines last month when Red Bull were said to have questioned it. According to Auto Motor und Sport, Red Bull “made the FIA take a closer look at the rear suspension of the Silver Arrows” in regard to its legality. The FIA investigation was “inconclusive” with seven other teams having the same suspension, some “apparently even more radically than Mercedes”. One of those teams being Ferrari. As such it is no wonder that Binotto says there is nothing wrong with the Mercedes design. “Honestly I’m not too interested in this discussion,” the Italian said when asked about Red Bull’s queries. “I’m not really following them, I heard about it. “I do not see anything wrong or illegal in that. I mean I’m even not somehow surprised the way the car behaves.” McLaren team boss Andreas Seidl also isn’t concerned that Mercedes are running an illegal design. “To be honest, I only saw, I think the Sky video when the analysis was done,” he said as per Autosport, “but we didn’t spend any energy yet on on this topic. “We have enough to do just focusing on ourselves and executing a good race weekend. “So let’s chat a bit about it again in a week’s time, once we have looked into this as a team. And if there’s actually something behind it or it is just a ghost which is going through the paddock at the moment.” Speaking after the Turkish Grand Prix, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner voiced his suspicious about the Mercedes suspension. But, he added, while he fears it will give Mercedes an advantage, he does not believe it is illegal. “It will have more effect on one straight than the other,” he told Sky Sports. “On a circuit like Jeddah, I think it will bring them a lot. “Based on what we’ve seen now, I don’t believe it’s illegal and I see no reason to make a protest.” As for Mercedes, Toto Wolff called Red Bull’s complaints “noise”. “I think we recognise absolutely this is a sport where competitors will always try to find out if there is some kind of silver bullet,” said Wolff. “My experience is there is no such thing, it’s all the small gains, marginal gains that have been added and bring performance. “We are trying to really comprehend our car better and add performance in lap time without listening too much to the noise.”

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Max Verstappen was also unwell during US Grand Prix, Marko reveals

Kevin Peterson02 mins

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has revealed that Max Verstappen was “unwell” during the United States Grand Prix at the weekend. Sergio Perez was visibly struggling post-race and Marko has confirmed Verstappen was not feeling 100 percent despite converting pole position to victory to extend his lead in the Drivers’ Championship to 12 points over Lewis Hamilton. “During the race it turned black in front of his eyes,” Marko told Auto Motor und Sport. “It’s incredible how much mental capacity Max still has. He drives a car at the limit despite feeling unwell, but also still thinks about the strategy. “Max brought himself back into shape with breathing exercises and drinking.” Perez’s illness affected him more and he was hindered further because he completed the 56-lap Grand Prix without a working drinks system. The Mexican described the experience as his “toughest race ever”. Marko believes Perez’s and Verstappen’s performances should be rated more highly due to both drivers not being at full fitness. “For Perez, too much water flowed in the warm-up lap [in his car],” said Marko. “The stuff splashed around like the devil. “Then he had to change the balaclava. He had no water in the race. When changing the car, to have less water, something went wrong. So that was a good performance. “The performance of both [drivers] is to be valued even higher.”

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Why Red Bull did not pit Sergio Perez for the fastest lap

Kevin Peterson03 mins

Red Bull boss Christian Horner says they never considered a late pit-stop for Sergio Perez at the US Grand Prix to try and deny Lewis Hamilton the point for fastest lap. Even though a maximum of 133 points still remain up for grabs in the Drivers’ title fight between Max Verstappen and Hamilton, the consensus is that every single one is important. Therefore, the point the reigning World Champion gained for setting the fastest race lap around the Circuit of The Americas in the United States Grand Prix could yet make a difference in the final reckoning. However, Red Bull did not want to sacrifice the 15 points earned by Perez for finishing third behind his team-mate Verstappen and Hamilton, preferring to keep the extra three in the Constructors’ battle rather than dropping to fourth place behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc due to a stop for fresh tyres. Red Bull are the outsiders against Mercedes in the chase for the teams’ crown and trail by 23, so a deficit of 26 would have made that task even harder. However, also to the forefront of Horner’s mind was wanting to see both of his drivers on the victory rostrum for the second consecutive race, the one-three finish in Austin following a two-three at Istanbul Park a fortnight earlier. “It would have been brutal to pit ‘Checo’ and take him off the podium,” Horner told Motorsport.com when it was put to him about the possibility of Perez going for the fastest lap. “Leclerc was obviously too close behind. In the collective position of the team it was better for Checo to take the points, so that’s what we did.” From the human side of it also, the Mexican driver was struggling physically because he had been feeling below par on race day anyway and also had to drive the grand prix without hydration because his drink system had failed.

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Red Bull will not protest Mercedes rear suspension trick

Kevin Peterson04 mins

Red Bull boss Christian Horner says Red Bull have no plans to protest against Mercedes’ rear suspension ‘trick’, which came to light at the United States Grand Prix. TV footage emerged over the weekend of the rear of the Mercedes, a high-rake concept car, dropping to the ground as the car increases in speed. This essentially stalls the airflow under the car and would contribute to a higher top speed. Red Bull team boss Horner and advisor Helmut Marko both noted Mercedes’ apparent straight-line speed gains following the Turkish GP, with Horner then making reference to a “system” during practice in Austin. Despite the initial furore, Horner ruled out the possibility of Red Bull lodging a protest. “We’ve never said we don’t think it’s legal, so therefore there’d be absolutely no reason to protest,” Horner told the media. Horner did note, however, that the system could play a key role at certain tracks during the title run-in. After the “extreme version” seen in Turkey, the system was limited by the high-speed, bumpy nature of the Circuit of the Americas, but Horner reckons the Jeddah Street Circuit is one venue where it could shine. “It’s something that has been used historically. We’ve seen it with them in the past, but obviously what we saw in Turkey was quite an extreme version of it, which that circuit seemed to allow,” He added.“It will have a greater influence at some tracks than others. It was a reduced effect here [in Austin]. At somewhere like Jeddah, for example, it could be quite powerful.” Mercedes boss Toto Wolff had already dismissed the “noise” from Red Bull earlier in the US GP weekend. “We recognise absolutely that this is a sport where competitors will always try to find out whether there is some kind of silver bullet,” he told the press. “My experience is there is no such thing. It’s always small gains, marginal gains, that have been added and then bring performance. And we’re trying to really comprehend our car better and add performance and lap time without listening too much to the noise.”

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Verstappen needs only two race victories to win Formula 1 championship

Kevin Peterson03 mins

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has said that Max Verstappen needs two more race victories before the end of this season to be crowned Formula 1 world champion. The Dutchman extended his lead in the Drivers’ standings to twelve points at the weekend with him winning the US Grand Prix ahead of title rival Lewis Hamilton and team-mate Sergio Perez. Indeed, it was a really positive weekend for Red Bull at a circuit that has favoured Mercedes more in years previously, and they’ll now be looking to take further wins at tracks that have suited their own car a little bit better in Mexico and then Brazil. Certainly, if Verstappen wins both of those races he’ll be in a really strong position ahead of the final triumvirate of Middle Eastern Grands Prix at the close of the campaign and it appears as though Marko feels a brace of race wins in the final five will secure the Dutchman’s maiden championship crown: “The last three races were actually all Mercedes tracks and instead of coming to Mexico with a deficit, we come to Mexico with a 12-point lead. Mexico and Brazil should actually suit us even better because of the altitude,” Marko said. “As I said, we need to win 10 races if we want to win the championship, so we still need two. “Then maybe we can lean back a little bit in the Middle East tracks because those tracks have crazy straights and Mercedes will certainly play their advantage there.” Of course, Hamilton and Mercedes will have other ideas about Verstappen winning the next two, with the Mexican Grand Prix up next in just under two weeks from now.

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Red Bull wants FIA to inspect Mercedes rear suspension

Kevin Peterson05 mins

Red Bull are reported to have asked the FIA to examine the Mercedes rear suspension, which Christian Horner discussed in Austin. Horner, the Red Bull team principal, made reference to a “straight-line device” that lowers the rear of the car, increasing the top speed of the W12 and which he believed had helped Mercedes considerably at the Turkish Grand Prix won by Valtteri Bottas. Now, Auto Motor und Sport are reporting Red Bull “made the FIA take a closer look at the rear suspension of the Silver Arrows” in regard to its legality – but that the “investigation was inconclusive”. However, rather than being an innovation, the report says seven other teams do the same thing, some “apparently even more radically than Mercedes” – and that Ferrari have admitted it has been a “normal set-up tool” of theirs for years. Also, that Mercedes “have had this system on board for years”, with the rear axle unchanged since the start of the 2020 season. An engineer is quoted as saying: “It was one of the homologated parts for us. We couldn’t change it at all. So the effects have always remained the same.” Auto Motor und Sport quote Horner as saying the effect of the ‘device’ was reduced at Austin, venue for the US Grand Prix, compared to the previous circuits of Sochi and Istanbul Park where Lewis Hamilton and Bottas respectively were the winners. “The advantage varies from track to track,” said Horner. “Here [Austin] it is less because there are enough fast corners where you can’t lower the rear too far without losing downforce. So they can’t benefit that much on the straights either. “At Sochi and Istanbul it was possible. Mercedes took seven tenths off us on the straights.” Toto Wolff said on the opening day of action in Austin that talk about the ‘device’ was just “noise” – and the Mercedes team principal appeared amused that the World Championship rivals were bothering themselves with a matter he clearly considered to be somewhat trivial. “As long as they want to waste their energies on something like that, it can only be fine with us,” Wolff is quoted as saying. But the report concludes by saying that even if nothing untoward was found on the Mercedes, Red Bull did at least succeed in taking up the valuable time of some of their rivals’ personnel that could have otherwise been spent elsewhere. Mercedes did change the floor of their cars after Friday’s practices but that, it is said, was more to do with the height than a reaction to Red Bull’s request. Wolff conceded at the time that it cost Mercedes pace, with Max Verstappen taking both pole position and the United States GP win.

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Red Bull announces a longer partnership with Honda from 2022

Kevin Peterson04 mins

Red Bull and Honda have announced that they will be continuing to work together from 2022. This comes after Red Bull revealed a special white livery for the Turkish Grand Prix as a tribute to Honda, who will be leaving Formula 1 at the end of 2021 season. In 2020 Honda made a decision that their engine project in Formula 1 will be coming to an end and wats to put its focus on other projects and will be quiting Formula 1 entirely. The Japanese manufacture who were supplying power units to Red Bull, handed over the duty to the team to develop and make the engines themselves. However, in a press release Honda has announced that it will continue to work together with Red Bull. The partnership will revolve around three factors. Red Bull powertrains will own Honda engine and all information about it but Honda will still assinst in the engine production and development in 2022 and 2023. Red Bull will also be taking all the personnel from Honda. Honda and Red Bull will also partner in the area of talent development with Honda continuing with Formula Dream Project in which AlphaTauri driver Yuki Tsunoda is a part of. ”I’m glad that we have reached an agreement with Red Bull Group covering all the details of the IP rights for the F1 Power Unit and in this way, Honda can still contribute to the motor racing world,” said Koji Watanabe the Executive Officer Honda Motors. “We are now working hard to strengthen HRC’s structure, so that it can ensure our fans will be able to continue to enjoy Honda’s role in all types of motorsport,” he added. “Red Bull’s collaboration with Honda has been enormously successful and while our relationship in Formula 1 is changing, neither of us wish for that to be the end of the story,” Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said. “We are very pleased that our ambitious and exciting Red Bull Powertrains project will be strongly supported by Honda, technically and operationally, in 2022 and this will help ensure that Red Bull’s transition to the status of chassis and power unit manufacturer is seamless.” ”Equally as exciting is the news that our collaboration with Honda will extend to a variety of motorsport activities, from driver development to other racing disciplines and even across the wider sporting world. This stretch of Honda’s Formula 1 voyage is coming to an end but together we are embarking on a new and fascinating journey,” concludes the Red Bull Racing team principal.

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Red Bull reveals special white livery ahead of Turkish GP inspired by Honda

Kevin Peterson02 mins

Red Bull has revealed a special white livery that it will be using this weekend at The Turkish Grand Prix. The RB16B is bearing white and red theme colours acting as a tribute to power unit partner Honda who will be leaving Formula 1 at the end of the year. In 1965 Honda made its maiden win with the Honda RA272 whose livery has a striking resemblance to the special white livery on the RB16B. Red Bull decided to run the livery this weekend at Istanbul park since the Japanese Grand Prix was set for this weekend before the F1 calendar was rescheduled after Japan imposed travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Red Bull will rebrand their new power units under Red Bull Powertrains after Honda leaves officially at the end of the year. Red Bull Powertrains will supply Both Red Bull and its junior team AlphaTauri with power units for the next three years.

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Title fight is taking a toll on Mercedes – Marko

Kevin Peterson03 mins

Red Bull’s advisor Dr Helmut Marko claims Mercedes is suffering from engine problems as a direct result of the fight for the 2021 championship title with Red Bull. There are reports that Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton will be starting the Turkish GP at the back of the grid this weekend because of an unscheduled engine change. However, according to reliable resources from a Mercedes insider, the engine change for Hamilton this weekend at Istanbul will not be happening. It is likely to happen during United States or Mexican Grand Prix. “It probably won’t happen in Turkey unless Lewis has a problem there, we expect a close race against Red Bull,” the source said. “But then it (the engine change) has to be done. We’re trying to do it on a track where we are either particularly strong or weak or when it rains.” “Mexico will be a Red Bull circuit because of the altitude, and maybe also Interlagos.” According to Marko, Mercedes has been plagued by the engine issues as a result of the close and intense battle for the championship with Red Bull. “Mercedes used to have an easy time,” the 78-year-old said. “They accelerated in the first few laps and then turned the engines down. That is no longer possible.” “Now they have to drive more often and for longer in a higher mode. And then the problems come,” he added. Through Red Bull sources, Mercedes’ engine problem comes from the crankshaft and the valve seats which affect the horsepower when the engine mileage continues counting. Mercedes boss Toto Wolf said there is a high possibility that Hamilton’s engine will be changed. “It’s small things but unfortunately they’re always different. There is no clearly recognisable pattern.”

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Red Bull and AlphaTauri to reveal special white livery for Turkish GP

Kevin Peterson04 mins

Red Bull and its junior team AlphaTauri are set to reveal a special one-off white livery for the Turkish GP this weekend. The 2021 Formula 1 season will be Honda’s last season in F1, this weekend was set for the Japanese Grand Prix but due to the COVID-19 pandemic the 2021 Formula 1 calendar was rescheduled and the Suzuka race was cancelled. Therefore, Red Bull decided to commemorate Honda this weekend in Istanbul park. The unique liveries used by both teams will be a mark of celebrating their partnership with Honda which proved to be very successfull. The liveries will be also used to give the engine manufacturer’s fans in Japan a chance to wave goodbye to the company in F1. Both Verstappen’s and Perez’s Red Bull RB16B cars will be donning a predominantly white livery, whereas Gasly’s and Tsunoda’s AlphaTauri AT02s will display a special one-word Japanese message saying ‘arigato’ which means ‘thank you’. The main reason that the teams chose the white livery is because the first time Honda won a Formula 1 race with both chassis and engine, was in a white car back in 1965 at the Mexican Grand Prix. The car was driven by American driver Richie Ginther. AlphaTauri was the first team to link up with Honda back in 2018 when they were named Toro Rosso. Despite having three unsuccessful years with engine supplier McLaren, Honda’s partnership proved to be a success as Gasly won the Italian Grand Prix in 2020. Red Bull Formula 1 team partnered with Honda in 2019. The partnership has been fruitful as the team has enjoyed 13 race wins whith 8 of them being in the current season. “We had all been looking forward to giving Honda’s Japanese fans a chance to celebrate our extremely successful relationship in Formula 1 on home soil at Suzuka,” Red Bull boss Christian Horner said. “With the race falling victim to the pandemic, we just couldn’t let the weekend pass without paying tribute to Honda and their amazing home fans by bringing a little bit of their heritage to Istanbul. “The livery chosen for our cars pays homage to Honda’s remarkable F1 journey and hopefully we can give fans another victory in those legendary colours this weekend.” From 2022, Red Bull Powertrains, a new enterprise set up at the team’s Milton Keynes base, will be taking over the engine supply to Red Bull and AlphaTauri.

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