Red Bull’s title charge may be over before it’s begun
Date published:
May 12 2021
Formula 1 has all the potential it needs for 2021 to be a vintage year – but are Red Bull stopping it from delivering on that promise?
Massive hype has built up ever since pre-season testing in mid-March, when Mercedes struggled and Red Bull looked the class of the field.
This was the season, it was said, when we could enjoy a true head-to-head fight all year long between two teams and four drivers in which every race win, every point, would matter.
But is that battle in danger of being declared over before it has barely even begun?
Brundle warns Perez could ‘crumble’ at Red Bull
Date published:
May 11 2021
Martin Brundle fears Sergio Perez could “crumble” if he allows his early struggles at Red Bull to get into his head.
Four races into the 2021 season and Perez has not been a significant upgrade on Alex Albon so far, yet to get close to finishing on the podium for his new team.
Inconsistency has been the Mexican’s main problem, especially in qualifying, and he has admitted it is taking him longer than anticipated to get used to the car.
Although the 31-year-old has two fifth-place finishes and a fourth in races to his name, they have fitted into the ‘never dangerous’ category, running some way behind the battle at the front that has invariably featured his team-mate, Max Verstappen.
Ultimately, two elements decided this race – Mercedes’ superior strategy and Hamilton’s relentless pace which enabled them to carry it off.
Much has been made of Verstappen’s ‘mistakes’ this season. In Barcelona, the Dutchman was pretty much foot perfect on race day when, thankfully, track limits were far less of an issue than they have been previously in 2021.
The only minor criticism of Verstappen could be that he caught his team on the hop when he came in for a pit-stop, possibly a lap too early according to Christian Horner, which meant their usual two-second tyre change time was doubled – still pretty impressive if they genuinely were not expecting him at that moment!
Russell regrets his ‘rash judgement’ at Imola
Date published:
April 29 2021
George Russell says he has learned about controlling his emotions since his Imola crash with Valtteri Bottas, having made a “rash judgement” with his furious reaction.
The Williams driver collided with Bottas on lap 32 of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix while trying to overtake the Mercedes at high speed on a drying circuit, both cars sustaining heavy damage against the barriers although fortunately both men were uninjured.
Emerging from his car first, Russell walked over to Bottas and during an angry confrontation, was shown the middle finger by the Finn before responding with a swipe at the Finn’s helmet.