Albers: "Knew Saturday that Max had a big chance to win"

Christijan Albers says he already knew on Saturday that Max Verstappen had a great chance to win the second Grand Prix at Silverstone. Verstappen and Red Bull Racing chose to start the race as the only one of the top ten on the hardest tyre.

Focus on strategy

"What's stuck with me? I already knew on Saturday that Max had a great chance of winning. But that was only after qualifying. You actually saw that Red Bull had nothing to lose. They could completely focus on the strategy", Albers said in the Formula 1 podcast of De Telegraaf.

According to Albers a top team like Mercedes is in a certain rhythm. "You always grab the best tyre for qualifying to drive the fastest lap and qualify well. That's where surprisingly Red Bull came in. Whatever they did on the Red Bull Ring. You have nothing more to lose and then you look at the strategy", says the former Formula 1 driver.

Control in the race

By starting on the hard tyre, Red Bull was able to control the race, Albers says. "Then you're gonna qualify with the hard tyre and you're gonna be like Red Bull. Because then you can see where the race is going. The cars at the front start with a softer compound. Because then you can set the pace yourself and you can adjust in the race. There you saw that he made the difference with Mercedes", concludes Albers.