Brundle on Verstappen: "I'm sure they had the motor turned right down"

It was not a trouble-free weekend for the Austrian racing stable. Max Verstappen complained about his RB19 during the first two free practice sessions and was quite dissatisfied. In the end, the 25-year-old driver did capture the position. After qualifying, Verstappen and Sergio Perez needed new oil intake pipes fitted and during the race there were some minor issues with downshifting.

"But whichever way you cut it Verstappen was cruising out front and it's not difficult to believe he could easily have been 10 seconds further up the road if required. Maybe much more," Brundle said in his column for Sky Sports.

"I'm sure they had the motor turned right down too to save that high power mode energy for another day, and he could have won the race at will, whatever they did strategy wise."

Mercedes at a big disadvantage

The British television channel's commentator is shocked by Mercedes' large gap. In qualifying, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton were some six tenths short and a day later it was as much as a second a lap. Indeed, Hamilton finished some 50 seconds behind than Verstappen.

"George said after the race that he believes Red Bull will win all 23 races, and while that might have been an emotional and disappointed reaction, you couldn't rule it out on the evidence we've seen so far," Brundle said.