At Red Bull, premature tire wear is a problem

Red Bull is no longer master of his lands. On Sunday, it was the Prancing Horse that took over the Red Bull. On a circuit usually favorable to the Austrian team, the RB18s were not as comfortable as in recent years. The main reason: tire wear during the Grand Prix. Max Verstappen, who came second, had to stop much earlier than Charles Leclerc during the race, which compromised his strategy.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner admitted his car didn't have the weapons to compete against Ferrari. “We scored some very important points. Ferrari had a faster car for the majority of the race (…). But our tire degradation was higher from halfway through the first stint and it was difficult to combat that. »

Asked if Red Bull suffered similar levels of wear during the Sprint race, Horner responded: “We were far from what we saw during the Grand Prix. Ferrari seemed gentler with the tires, they had a pace advantage and that gave them more strategic options. »

Red Bull and Verstappen save championship points

If the Ferrari had a clear advantage in the race, the results of the weekend were still rather good for Red Bull. In the Drivers' Championship, Max Verstappen only lost 5 units to Charles Leclerc thanks to the point for the fastest lap and the victory in the Sprint race. The retirement of Sergio Pérez was compensated by the explosion of the engine Carlos Sainz. “It’s unfortunate for them with Carlos. But with our pace at the end of the race, we still got the fastest lap point. We didn't have the same ease as yesterday [Saturday, during the Sprint race] and this is something we still need to understand. »

If the lead in the two championships has remained almost intact, Christian Horner warns of the need for Red Bull to quickly find solutions to stay in the match. “Our championship lead is healthy, but Ferrari is fast and we have to keep working. We cannot afford to go backwards. » Ferrari remains on two consecutive victories while Red Bull still has a 56-point lead in the constructor standings.

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