Red Bull suffered defeats in Singapore and Russia. The races revealed: The RB15 is a difficult to drive car.
Places four and five were in Sochi mitigation. "We were not fast enough on either the soft or the medium tire to take on Ferrari and Mercedes," Verstappen summed up. This time, Mad Max did not plow his way through the field as fast as 2018. He had already steered his Red Bull past all midfield cars after eight laps.
Max had to solve it on the brakes, "explained team boss Christian Horner.
Albon with higher top speed
The teammate had him. Albon sat at 340.4 km / h in the fastest car on the home straight. Verstappen scored only 327.7 km / h.
Which suggests that Red Bull had not only installed new drive components in the car with the start number 23 before the race, but also changed the vote. Albon overtook eight cars: two times Sergio Perez, Daniil Kvyat, Pierre Gasly, Lance Stroll, Lando Norris, Kevin Magnussen and Carlos Sainz.
The time on Ferrari Red Bull loses especially on the straights. "Ferrari is the benchmark there. We lose eight-tenths, "predicts team boss Christian Horner. "The power advantage Ferrari plays to other trumps. You can tune your car more for the bends, for example, drive more wings. "
Mercedes is better in the corners. A good comparison in Sochi was the last sector with its six corners - five of them at an angle of 90 degrees. From Saturday, the silver cars were ahead. The wind stopped Red Bull's wings. "He hurts us more. The car was driven into oversteer, "complained Verstappen.
The oncoming wind exposed Red Bull's vulnerability. The RB15 is a fast racing car, if all parameters are right. If a piece of the puzzle slips, the car no longer sticks to the floor but becomes nervous. The unrest in the car drives the drivers out of their comfort zone. There is only one who can run over the problems. That's Max Verstappen.
New fuel for the Honda home game
The race weekends in Singapore and Russia show that the Red Bull has too small a voting window. The aerodynamic concept only works if the front wing is crouched close to the asphalt. In Singapore, Red Bull had to increase ground clearance for the bumps and curbs. Already lacked the contact pressure. Changes in conditions throw Red Bull faster from the comfort zone than for example Mercedes keyword wind.
The upgrades since the summer break do not seem to have set the RB15 wide-legged. Ferrari has developed better there. Even the engineers admit: "We have to analyze whether we have taken a step backwards." Also in the last five races of the season Red Bull wants to bring new parts. "Here's something small, something small," says Horner. "What we learn in 2019 in understanding the car, we can transfer to 2020."
The GP Japan will also be for Red Bull for the exam. Secretly, Red Bull and Honda even dream of victory. "I expect Mercedes in the first sector with the S-curves strong. Ferrari should fly in the last part with the straights, "says Verstappen.
The biggest development comes on the engine side. The Honda engine will run on a new gasoline. Only then is Honda's Spec-4 complete. The engine is to saddle up with the new fuel a few horsepower. To get to Ferrari level, the team is like Mercedes: you have to decipher the mystery of the red powertrain. Honda gives it 200 percent.
It is said that no engine manufacturer invest more money than the Japanese.
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