Red Bull's Revenge

 

Pictures speak a thousand words. That could not be more true when we see the podium from last weekend's race at Circuit Paul Ricard. The joy on one's face and the feeling of loss on another. 

About a month ago Mercedes performed a strategic masterclass to oust Red Bull at the Circuit de Catalunya in Spain. The sting that Red Bull felt from that very race was reciprocated in France as Max Verstappen came to take his 3rd win of the season and extend his lead ahead of Lewis Hamilton to 12 points. It was not all straight sailing from pole position though. 

Losing his first place at the start of the race by going deep into turn 1, the Dutchman had an uphill battle to climb as he conceded the race lead to Lewis Hamilton. The first stint on medium tyres saw the Briton build a comfortable lead of 3 seconds before both his teammate Bottas and title rival Verstappen pitted. With fresh hard tyres on Verstappen put on a blistering outlap and overtook Hamilton into turn 1 which is where the race was decided in my opinion. The strength of the undercut proved to be far too strong resulting in the Red Bull's gaining on Lewis. 

From there on it was about managing tyres which all drivers found quite difficult. 20 laps after their first pit stops all the top 3 runners were finding the conditions tough however Hamilton was able to keep within touching distance as he got the DRS assist every lap. Soon, everyone began to realise that this may just be a 2 stop race rather than a one stop. And unlike in Barcelona, it was Red Bull who pulled the trigger this time to pit Max and give Lewis track position. It was smooth sailing after that for the Dutchman who caught up to the leaders at 2 seconds a lap. With 1.5 laps to go he flew past the Silver Arrow of Lewis Hamilton to take the lead and win the race by 2 seconds. 

A huge race for Sergio Perez who took the final podium place after making his medium tyres last far longer than the others on his first stint. Catching Bottas towards the end it meant that Red Bull had an incredible pace advantage and it was smooth sailing for the Mexican. The Red Bull's have shown their strength race after race this season and it appears that if Mercedes want to win they will have to dig extremely deep. 

Apart from the strategic brilliance of Red Bull, there were a number of other teams that experienced similar success in the form of McLaren and Aston Martin. Starting in positions that one would not think they deserve (McLaren's in 8 and 10th and Aston Martins 12th and 19th), all 4 drivers finished in the points after they made their first stints last incredibly long. The same however cannot be said about Ferrari who after a brilliant qualifying show with Sainz in 5th ended up with no points on Sunday. They simply did not have the pace. A shame for the prancing horses who also lost a place in the constructors championship to McLaren who are going from strength to strength. 

A brilliant race for George Russell coming home in 12th. There are plenty of rumours going around at the moment that he may take Bottas's seat next season and I am eagerly awaiting how this will play out. I personally believe that Bottas has a lot more to give - he has shown his skill in previous seasons (Russia for example against Vettel) however there is something within him that has resulted in poor performances. We all heard his frustration I am sure when he told his team it was a two stop race. An interesting point to analyse it must be said because both Lewis and Bottas believed that the two stop was the faster option but James Vowles and the strategy team stuck with that 1 stopper. Plenty of discussions to be had back at Mercedes with 2 more races in 2 weeks. 

I would like to make a special mention for Pierre Gasly. Race after race the Frenchman has put in brilliant performances, bringing the car home in the points and making some fantastic moves. He has shown himself to be one of the elite drivers at the pinnacle of motor racing and I do not think anybody would disagree. With his contract ending this season he is definitely a hot buy for other teams who may be interested. 

7 races completed. 4 to Red Bull. 3 to Mercedes. A large gap in the constructors but pretty tight in the drivers championship. This season is going to be one for the ages. We head to the home of the Red Bulls - the Red Bull Ring for 2 weeks of intense racing which may define the rest of the season. 

Intensity as high as its ever been, racing at top speeds, F1 couldn't be more brilliant to watch than right now.