Mercedes top speed not a problem: 'You also have to go through the corners'

Mercedes caused a stir in the free practice sessions for the Turkish Grand Prix with their high top speed. At the end of the weekend this caused some concern for Red Bull Racing who fear for a new dominance of Mercedes. According to Michael Bleekemolen the Austrians don't have to worry too much.

Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas seemed to have a big lead over Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez due to the high speed, but it didn't ensure places one and two in Turkey. Partly due to a misguided decision by Mercedes and Hamilton to stay out for long with the intermediates, the Briton couldn't get past fifth place. "So you see that it doesn't always make a difference to have a faster engine," Bleekemolen judged in an exclusive interview with GPblog. "In the end you also have to go through the corners together and that's where Red Bull can gain an advantage again."

Concerns at Red Bull

Verstappen, Helmut Marko and Christian Horner expressed their concerns afterwards about the strong Mercedes that, together with Red Bull, is fighting for the world title for six more races. "However, I wouldn't be surprised if Mercedes were a bit faster than Red Bull for some time, but it didn't always come out. They obviously made some mistakes left and right, which made it harder for them to put in the performances they could. Possibly that dominance was never gone, but it was down to the set-up of the car, for example."

Bleekemolen believes, however, that a team doesn't always need the best engine to bring in points. "You can see that from the second drivers of Mercedes and Red Bull. Although Pérez and Bottas both have excellent cars, they don't always manage to drive up front. In fact they are regularly found in the midfield. So ultimately you can make the difference in other areas as well."

Red Bull competitive to Mercedes

At the same time Red Bull Racing showed that it can be very competitive and take on Mercedes. In the coming months, both teams will still race in Mexico and Brazil, among others, where Verstappen seems to have the advantage. "There are indeed good circuits coming up for Verstappen, giving him the perfect opportunity to perform and get points. That's something Max absolutely has to go for."