Red Bull shows superior strategy: ‘They need to against Mercedes’

Red Bull Racing have shown some of the highest level strategies in the 2021 Formula 1 season. In a few instances, including the United States Grand Prix, this even resulted in Max Verstappen winning. Former racing driver Vincenzo Sospiri sees the need for the superior strategies against Mercedes' otherworldly top speeds.

Sospiri, who won the 1995 Formula 3000 championship and also raced as a test driver for the Simtek and Benetton Formula One teams, saw Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton very much evenly matched at the Qatar Grand Prix. "They both had a good race," he told Italian magazine Autosprint.

He continued: "Verstappen struggled a bit at the start to keep up with the pace, but a nice duel ensued in the fight for the fastest lap." Red Bull brought Verstappen in for a new set of softs shortly before the end of the race, which earned him an extra point for the fastest lap.

According to Sospiri, this is a good example of the team's strategic thinking. Verstappen made the stop so late that Mercedes could not counter it. The Italian believes that Red Bull needs this kind of strategic thinking every now and then. "They certainly need to when they're up against Hamilton and Mercedes," said the Italian.