Palmer sees the Red Bulls struggling to get away and explains how this is possible

Verstappen was very strong all weekend, until he was suddenly beaten in qualifying by Lance Stroll, who took the first pole of his career. According to Palmer it would have made a big difference for the race of Verstappen if he had started on pole. "Losing pole to Lance Stroll not only cost Verstappen a position on the grid, but also a starting spot on the better side of the track," he writes in his analysis on Formula1.com.

"The start was a disaster"

"The start was a disaster for both Red Bull drivers. Starting from places two and four, they were both on the dirtier, wetter side of the track.  This certainly had an effect, because drivers like Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris also had a bad start, starting from twelfth and fourteenth respectively. It was obvious that the best way to start was on the outside, there the track was drier. We saw in the first part of the race how little grip there was outside the race line and how easy it was to spin.

"It was that difference in grip that affected the Red Bulls, Leclerc and Norris. They barely came out of place. Yet there were other drivers who did get away reasonably well, even though they were on the slippery side. Mostly Lewis Hamilton, who started in sixth place and immediately passed the Red Bulls. This indicates that it wasn't just about the difference in grip, but that there were other things going on as well," said Palmer.