F1 predicts: Red Bull likely to win pole, but gap to Mercedes small

Max Verstappen was on top during both free practices, but it always remains to be seen if Friday didn't give a distorted picture. On the official website of the Formula 1 is a thorough analysis for tomorrow's qualifying and the race on Sunday.

"When you crunch the numbers, Red Bull emerge as the ones to beat, but it’s super close – with just seven hundredths of a second separating them and reigning world champions Mercedes, the two leading title contenders nearly 0.4s clear of everyone else," reads the website. They predict Red Bull will take pole by 0.07 seconds over Mercedes.

Despite AWS's fantastic data, F1 has collected the data from FP2 and created the graph below. They predict that Red Bull will be on pole by 0.07s over Mercedes with McLaren and Alpine 0.001s apart. #StyrianGP pic.twitter.com/uPhG6LgImW

— Junaid #JB17 (@JunaidSamodien_) June 25, 2021

"Things looked even rosier on the long run metrics, supporting Sergio Perez’s belief that their pace looked “promising”. Our data reckons they are nearly two tenths a lap quicker than Mercedes, putting them in mighty fine shape for Sunday, particularly if it ends up being dry."

Lewis Hamilton's fastest time was taken away due to track limits. Pole position for Verstappen is therefore anything but certain. It promises to be an exciting qualifying session.

Based on FP2 race simulations, F1's data suggests Red Bull Racing are 0.19s faster than Mercedes with Ferrari in third 0.44s behind and McLaren in fourth. #StyrianGP pic.twitter.com/mPFcquYvsX

— Junaid #JB17 (@JunaidSamodien_) June 25, 2021