of pit lane To the podium. From disappointment to hope. Recovered to 16th place after losing in qualifying Q1. Due to lack of grip and aerodynamic load, the RB21 model was revived within a few hours. Max Verstappen and the Red Bull Racing wall observed the strategy developed by Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton four years ago at InterlagosHowever, the plan was more comprehensive and decisive in accessing the definition of commemorative titles on better terms. mad maxafter a controversial and shaky decision by Abu Dhabi’s Michael Masi-led sports stewards.
While having all the elements of the past, mclarenleading the Drivers’ World Championship land norris and Oscar Piastri has asked the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) to provide further information on engine replacement. To find out if Milton Keynes is breaking budget constraints.
Saturday’s disaster was decisive in testing multiple fixes. There is little room for improvement in the RB21, but the potential is very high if a solution is found. “I think it was all packaged, engine, setup, strategy… The car had a good rhythm and it felt good. And the team responded twice. “I came back in last place with a puncture on the hard tire and came back on the medium compound…” Verstappen commented on the modifications and circumstances that allowed him to return to the fight and deliver another great performance, although he did not take the victory.
team leader, Laurent Mekiessupported a thorough overhaul of the car to rediscover itself. ”We’ve taken a lot of risks over the past few months. That’s how this team approaches racing and that’s the spirit of RBR. After a mediocre race result sprint (Verstappen 4th, Hiroki Tsunoda 13th) The car came back to life and showed enough power to fight for the victory. ”
Four years ago, Hamilton entered Sao Paulo with a 19-point disadvantage over Verstappen, and at Interlagos the team pushed for changes to the engine’s combustion chamber.. The seven-time champion penalized five positions on the grid but gained power over the final four days of the calendar.
The engineers analyzed this Interlagos was the right circuit He has room to recover and he showed it on the track, so he will have to endure the punishment. sprint race He started last and finished fifth after being declassified due to a DRS anomaly. In the major prize, I started from the 10th box… and won. It was the first episode of A series of successes replicated in Qatar and Saudi Arabiaa great prize for finishing first as Verstappen arrived at the Yas Marina circuit with the same points.
Now, Verstappen must overcome 49 of the 83 points in contention with Norris to earn five stars.However, they also have Piastri as a rival, 25 units away. “That ship has sailed. “I think we just have to let them run. The lead Lando has now is solid, but he can’t give up either…” he pointed out. toto wolfhead of mercedeseliminates the possibility of mad max They also announced a direct showdown between McLaren drivers.
But if the Woking-based team wins the drivers’ world championship, it will once again enter a season with two titles at stake – the constructors’ title was confirmed six days ago in Singapore – repeating a feat not achieved since Mika Hakkinen took the crown in 1998, and the recovered RB21 will be a threat on the track.
That’s not the only dark spot they reviewed. They asked the FIA to investigate whether the Milton Keynes factory exceeded budget limits set at $135 million.. “Installing a new engine is always beneficialalthough the program was supposed to end the year without that need. It’s difficult to quantify the benefits in terms of lap times, but the differences are small and everything is important,” Mekies said in São Paulo.
In McLaren’s case, if a power unit is replaced due to reliability or failure, it should not affect the budget cap, but if the team makes a conscious decision to replace it for performance reasons, as is the case here at RBR, that expense must be added to the cost cap. “The power unit changes test the regulations and it will be interesting to see if the cost of this engine stays within the limits.. That’s one of the reasons we didn’t do it,” said McLaren boss Andrea Stella. He is not afraid of RBR’s performance with the new engine.
“I don’t know what will happen with Honda, but generally these engines don’t show much deterioration with mileage.. That is why the engine is not usually replaced, accepting a penalty or loss of position, because the performance regained does not compensate for the loss of position, ”analysed the Italian engineer, his opinion reflecting the advances in engines in the turbo-hybrid era.
Verstappen will be showing off his letter on the Las Vegas street circuit in 10 days, and there may be a bright answer to McLaren’s observations.
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