Red Bull Racing have dealt a fair blow to their nearest rival, Mercedes, in Monaco. Max Verstappen was very fast in the Principality, while Mercedes had trouble adjusting the car of Lewis Hamilton. Red Bull did a much better job of overtaking Mercedes in both championships. Jolyon Palmer sees Mercedes clearly not in the rhythm they had in Monaco.
"Mercedes had a really bad race. It was bad strategy for Hamilton and that pit stop by Bottas, where they broke the wheel nut, so the wheel wouldn't come off. That had a big impact," Palmer explained in the BBC podcast The Chequered Flag. At the first corner, Verstappen had only Valtteri Bottas to hold off and Palmer sees that he didn't have much trouble doing so.
Monaco doesn't give a clear picture
"It was very logical for Verstappen to do that. You're on the outside. So you go for it to block the car behind you. Bottas is actually always careful in the opening stages. Verstappen did just that and managed to prevent Bottas from having a chance at P1 in the first corner."
Verstappen is at the top of the championship after the Monaco GP, but according to Palmer that does not mean that the Dutchman is now top favorite for the title."It's still a long season. This is a unique race. Winning in Monaco is no guarantee that you will be fast the whole season. If you win in Barcelona or Bahrain, the normal circuits, that's a much better assessment you have then with where you stand. Mercedes weren't good at it this weekend, but I don't think it's the end of the world now."