Doornbos analyses: "Red Bull are catching up at the right time"

Robert Doornbos believes that Red Bull Racing are improving. The F1 analyst sees the gap with Mercedes getting smaller and the ban on the qualifying mode could, according to Doornbos, turn out very favourably for Max Verstappen and Alexander Albon.

"Red Bull is closing the gap, or so it seems", Doornbos starts his analysis in the studio of Ziggo Sport. The former Formula 1 driver notes that the gap between the two rivals is getting smaller. "A few weeks ago we were on a shorter track at more than a second. Here it is a longer track and so they are catching up at the right time."

From next week at the Italian Grand Prix, the qualifying mode is prohibited and that should help Red Bull even further. "Party mode disappears in Monza, which is also a power circuit. At Spa, you are full throttle 65 per cent of the time and in Monza that is even the case up to eighty per cent. In qualifying that can save about three tenths. Then, you are only two tenths from pole position," he quickly calculates.

Verstappen is currently 37 points behind World Championship leader Lewis Hamilton. Doornbos is no longer as sure as before that the Briton will win the title. "I don't want to say the championship is for Max, but it is certainly not over yet."