Mercedes: "Red Bull have two cars at the front, that will help them with strategy"

In Mugello, Mercedes achieved a 1-2 in qualifying, with Lewis Hamilton on pole ahead of Valtteri Bottas. In Ferrari's home track, the team doesn't expect things to be easy. Red Bull Racing have the chance to shake things up with Alex Albon starting close to Max Verstappen.

That is what Andrew Shovlin, the Chief Race Engineer of the German team, expects. "Lewis did very well in Mugello. It is very difficult to make the perfect lap here because of all the turns that follow in quick succession. However, he did a good job and he was sharp throughout the qualifying session," Shovlin explained in a review of Mercedes after qualifying.

"For Valtteri, it was frustrating as he had to abort his fast lap due to yellow flags on the track. He was tremendously fast in practice but was unable to translate that into a fast lap at the most important moment. At least he is in the front row, which is important". According to Shovlin, it is striking that Red Bull is so close to Mercedes.

"The gap has never been so small this year and that often means they won't be far away during the race. They now also have two cars at the front which will give them more options in the race. This track is very heavy on the tyres and there are a number of options with the strategy that will all be equally fast. So we will see a variation in tyre choice and number of pit stops," Shovlin concluded.