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Mercedes has some catching up to do: If not, they're in for a strife

Mercedes has some catching up to do: "If not, they're in for a strife"

16-06-2021 20:41
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GPblog.com

Red Bull Racing has been dominant in the last two race weekends, winning both the Monaco and Azerbaijan Grand Prix. In Baku it would have been a double if not for Max Verstappen 's unfortunate blowout. But can the Austrian team continue in this vein, or does the advantage lie in the street circuit?

Verstappen was clear about it: he believes that Mercedes still has the faster car on 'normal' circuits. In addition, a number of races have been scrapped at circuits that usually suit Red Bull well. "I don't think Mercedes will be disappointed that Singapore is off," said Mark Webber on the Talking Bull podcast. "The same goes for Montreal. The surface there is quite slippery and they don't always do well there, whereas Red Bull has performed very well on tracks like that."

Mercedes needs to catch up

Webber is particularly curious about how the ratios will be on race weekends where the temperature is higher. "We haven't really seen that yet. Lewis is always talking about how difficult it is to get the car in the right window for qualifying, but whether Red Bull Racing has a larger operating window remains to be seen," said the Australian.

"In the summer we have some hot European Grands Prix coming up on traditional circuits. Then we'll see if Mercedes can respond to the poorer results they've had on the street circuits. If not, they're in for a strife. On the traditional circuits they need to get the measure of Red Bull," Webber said.