'Mercedes' low rake suddenly looks to have an advantage in Hungary'

It is clear that Friday was not Red Bull's best day. Despite the difference between Mercedes and Max Vertappen not appearing to be too great, the Mercedes apparently handled the temperature better in Hungary.

However, there is also a comment to be made here. The Honda engine Verstappen was driving with was not working at full capacity. According to Peter Windsor Mercedes has an advantage despite that. He says this in his new video on YouTube.

"Max Verstappen was out of sync from the start with what Mercedes was running. He wasn't doing that many long runs. When Mercedes went from soft to medium and back again this morning, Verstappen was still running on the medium tyre. When it came down to it during the soft runs he was three tenths slower than Mercedes."

Reason for better performance Mercedes

Because that Mercedes has a better setup and is currently in a better position in Hungary is clear, according to Windsor.

"With the new 'stiffer rear' it completely changes the balance of the Red Bull. At least more than with Mercedes. And that's because the Red Bull has more downforce than the Mercedes by itself. If you start playing with that, that's all that impacts on the different pressures on the tyres and how they build up heat, that's always going to hit Red Bull more than Mercedes. Simply because it has more downforce."

"Then on top of that there's the high rake, which makes the car more sensitive," Windsor continued. "So the low rake of Mercedes, and also of Aston Martin, is suddenly at an advantage. Red Bull will have the faster car on average, but Mercedes is currently the more and better adjustable car."

Saturday and Sunday will see some more cloud cover, but the temperature will not drop. So Verstappen and Red Bull will have to find some extra.