Red Bull overtakes Ferrari: Second power behind Mercedes - AMuS
https://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/for ... mercedes/
Translation from Reddit
The GP England brought Red Bull places four and five. It could have been more if Max Verstappen hadn't been torpedoed by Sebastian Vettel. Red Bull overtook Ferrari at that speed in the race.
Red Bull is making progress. The RB15 is getting better and better. The development stages of the last few weeks are working. In France Honda still had to drive with throttled power. Out of fear of knocking damage. In Austria, however, the Honda V6 was allowed to show its teeth. In race trim, the Japanese engine is no longer far away from the competing products. Max Verstappen won the race.
At Silverstone the Red Bull again showed an appealing performance. Max Verstappen would have landed on the podium if Sebastian Vettel hadn't swept him into the gravel on the 37th lap. So positions four and five jumped out. That makes 22 points. Seven more than Ferrari. The gap in the Team World Championship dropped to 52 points.
For the first time this year Pierre Gasly placed in front of Stappen - if only because his teammate was cleared. "He was a different driver this weekend. It worked for him from the first practice session," Red Bull's team boss Christian Horner summed up with satisfaction. Head of Sport Helmut Marko attested the Frenchman an impeccable performance. "There are 100 small changes that have brought me forward," says Gasly himself.
As fast as Bottas
Only before the race there was excitement about the dark blue cars. On the grid, the mechanics changed the rear wings on both cars. "We noticed a crack in Max's wing. Pierre's car also showed a rupture. Therefore we had to react.
Verstappen could have even landed in second place later. Valtteri Bottas had to pit a second time, while the Dutchman could drive through. But the Vettel shot cost the fourth podium this season. The 21-year-old quickly finished the accident. Verstappen knows: This year he won't be able to win the title against the overpowering Mercedes. After ten races he is already 87 points behind world championship leader Hamilton.
Red Bull is already thinking about 2020. Then at the latest the gap to the class leader should be closed. That's what our own claim demands. This demands engine partner Honda from himself and from the team. Red Bull still runs the risk of losing Stappen. An exit clause spirits through the Energy Station.
Any progress with the car is welcome. Because it shows the boy wonder that the subscription world champion of the years 2010 to 2013 is going up after a mixed start to the season. "We had the speed of Mercedes in the race. At least from Bottas," they say at Red Bull. "Hamiton was too fast," says Verstappen.
The aero upgrades since the French GP have stabilised the RB15. Especially the new front wing, which made its debut in Austria. Since then, engineers have found it easier to control the air vortices generated at the front and guide them around the car. This makes the downforce at the rear more stable. Pierre Gasly promptly trusted his car. The 23-year-old was only given the new wing at Silverstone. In Austria, Max Verstappen had it exclusively after three of them went off on the aggressive curbstones.
New engine after summer break
"We have unleashed the potential of the car," Horner is happy about the good last two races. "We're now well positioned in fast and slow corners." Even Silverstone is no longer a fearful circuit for Red Bull. On 4,595 of the 5,891 metres the drivers are fully on the gas. That's where the engine comes in.
In qualifying, Red Bull Honda with its party mode has not the punch of the competition. But in the race, the Austro-Japanese connection is able to drive at high power on a permanent basis. In addition, the RB15 handles the tyres gently. Red Bull has therefore overtaken Ferrari in race trim.
"Our Quali-Pace is better than our speed in the race", Ferraris Charles Leclerc notes. "We have to work on that. Red Bull is better than us over the distance and keeps the tyres alive better". Even Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto has to admit. "After qualifying we had calculated more. Our race space wasn't good enough, but Red Bull is celebrating. "It was incredible how we could follow the Ferrari through Maggots, Becketts, Chapel. That's the highspeed meander at the back of the track. "Unfortunately, we were rarely able to show our true speed. We were behind a Ferrari for 99 percent of the race," says Horner. Red Bull is already fastest in another discipline. At Silverstone they changed tyres in 1.91 seconds. And the development steps at engine partner Honda also come quickly. It is said that the next expansion stage is already finished. It should bring about 25 HP, and Red Bull Honda thereby on the level of Mercedes lift. But the title favourite will add to the list itself. The revised Honda engine will be used after the summer break. Either in Spa or in Monza. "That depends on whether Honda brings further development this year. We also have to budget for our engine parts because of the impending penalties," explains Red Bull's Sports Director Marko.
