You wouldn’t be able to learn too much from one look at the Friday practice times from the British Grand Prix.The under-pressure Sergio Pérez followed at almost half a second off the pace as the fastest Red Bull Racing driver — unusual but not totally out of character.
There was also clearly a different engine mode in play, with the Dutchman losing bundles of time to the McLaren down the straights. That included the DRS-assisted Wellington Straight, where the RB20’s powerful rear wing device should have given it a big boost based on what we know about its effectiveness. Even a higher downforce configuration — which is possible on account of the wet forecast for the weekend — should have seen a bigger DRS benefit.
However, Pirelli says some graining is evident on the softs, and if there’s any deviation in the forecast or if there’s a safety car at a particular point in the race, Red Bull Racing and McLaren might find themselves locked onto opposing strategies based on what tyres they have left. But perhaps all this will be irrelevant come Sunday anyway, when — because this is the UK — there’s a threat of showers all day.SHOCK DRIVER MARKET TWIST THREATENS TO DELAY DECISION TO AUGUST
Antonelli — who skipped Formula 3 to make his F2 debut this year — has been having an average first season in the category.— is a strong return in his first season, but he also hasn’t exactly set the category on fire in a way that warrants an immediate promotion. Given Verstappen is extremely unlikely to leave Red Bull Racing at the end of this year, we might better describe that as a 50-50 call between Sainz and Antonelli.
“There are data, videos, facts, analysis, GPS data, which we spent quite a lot of time trying to confirm our initial opinions,” Stella continued. “I have to say our initial opinions were confirmed.The issue has now morphed into one about the quality of stewarding and race direction, with Woking claiming more active stewarding could have seen the battle continue with the accident having been avoided.