Next two races crucial for Red Bull: "Verstappen needs to create a gap"

The next Formula 1 race on the calendar is the Mexican Grand Prix. The Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez is located at an altitude of 2286 metres above sea level, which puts a lot of strain on the engines. Historically this gives Red Bull Racing an advantage, as they have always performed strongly at the track. Allard Kalff and Kees van de Grint discuss during RTL GP Slipstream whether this is also the case now.

"The engine suffers the most from that," Van de Grint replied when asked where the pain point is for the cars. Historically, the Mercedes powerplant seems to suffer more from thin air than the Honda engine. "That's possible, at least it looks like it is. Honda has got it right then," concludes the tyre expert.

Battle between Verstappen and Hamilton intensifies

The analysts are looking forward to the next race, especially as things really start to heat up between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. "We're going to see a fierce battle as we head towards the end. It's really going to count now. Verstappen has to defend his first place in the championship. The best thing for him is to get a few more points so his lead increases," Van de Grint continued.

"On the other hand, Hamilton shouldn't lose too much on him either, because then he's done too," adds the former Bridgestone engineer. Kalff still sees an uncertain factor. "Verstappen does need to make a gap in the next two Grands Prix, because after that we go to Qatar, Jeddah and Abu Dhabi. That is a bit of a question mark, so it would be nice to go there with a good lead," said Kalff.