Hamilton and Bottas agreed: "Albon had caught up with me, that says it all"

Mercedes hoped that Red Bull Racing would have a peak on Saturday because Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas did not get the red tyres working in qualifying, but nothing turned out to be less true a day later. Max Verstappen went convincingly to victory and was not threatened at all by the W11.

"Red Bull was too fast for us, surprisingly fast, I must say. We assumed that we would at least be at the same level in the race. I drove flawlessly and managed to get everything out of the package," said Bottas, who has Hamilton's support. "Max was out of reach and Albon had caught up with me. That says it all."

The fact that Hamilton could not make a fist at all from third place had to do with the dirty air. "If you have a car in front of you for three seconds, you're already sliding in all directions." 

The seven-time world champion couldn't start much against his teammate.

Rear wing RB16 aerodynamic benefit

The last races Red Bull Racing drove with a renewed rear wing. Mercedes is convinced, according to Auto Motor und Sport, that the RB16's new wing made for a more efficient downforce and that the difference was therefore so small. "Red Bull only puts the wing on the car if it's better," says the German racing team.