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Red Bull: "Want to strike on their own now"
- GPblog.com
This coming weekend the Azerbaijan Grand Prix is on the program. Red Bull Racing won the four previous Grands Prix and so on paper, the Austrians seem heavy favourites, especially because of the long straight that is over two kilometres long. Helmut Marko is not running away from the role of the favourite this time, but he is vigilant for Ferrari.
Red Bull may have won in Imola, Miami, Spain and Monaco, but it seemed at times during those weekends that the Ferrari has more speed. However, Max Verstappen (three times) and Sergio Perez (once) were always the two drivers who managed to win. Monaco, in particular, should have been won by Ferrari. The street circuit of Baku should suit the RB18 better again.
High top speed Red Bull
This has everything to do with the Red Bulls being the fastest formation on the straights in 2022. The Red Bull Powertrains engine developed by Honda for this season is still delivering pummeling performance. "For the first time since the hybrid era we have a car that is one of the absolute fastest on the straights, before that we were actually always the slowest," jubilates Marko in an interview with RTL.
In Saudi Arabia and Miami, high top speed earned Verstappen victory twice. In Azerbaijan, however, there are also a lot of 90-degree corners and that is where Ferrari needs to get its wins this weekend. Marko: "I hope we can cash in on our plus points again. We want to strike on our own now."
Slipstream in qualifying?
The straight in Baku lends itself perfectly to overtaking. The moment you are within a second of your predecessor at Turn 16 and therefore get DRS, you have a considerable chance of an overtaking attempt. This is also because the slipstream here is stronger than anywhere else. Possibly in qualifying, we will also see tricks with teams that drivers get a 'tow' from their teammate to gain a few tenths.