Little hope for Red Bull: ''Gap to Mercedes is huge again''

A bigger hole

"The gap to Mercedes is pretty big again. The cars were close together at the end of last year, but every year Red Bull lags behind at the beginning of the season. I hope for them that they get there in time'', said Christijan Albers in the podcast F1 aan Tafel of Grand Prix Radio.

According to Olav Mol, who also joined the podcast, the damage is not as great as Albers outlined to him. ''Qualifying is not so important nowadays. It has become more like the Tour de France in Formula 1. They have to find the rhythm first and it's only in the last stint that they come to life. That's really something of the last three years'', says the host of Ziggo Sport.

Problems for Honda or Red Bull

Because of that development, the gap in qualification is not such a problem. ''Max Verstappen kept it easy on the yellow tyre and could have competed on the red tyre at the end to win'', says Mol who previously criticised Albon on his performance in Austria. According to the commentator it's still unclear who was at fault.

''Honda has indicated that it is a technical problem, but there is only so much that is the responsibility of Honda. It may also be that there was a problem with the steering wheel or with the car because of the vibrations and then it is not up to Honda, but to Red Bull itself", concludes Mol.