Analysis makes Red Bull's choice clear: 'That's why Verstappen stayed out'

During qualifying we really found out how good Verstappen's new car is. Fans didn't want to get their hopes up too soon after the winter test, but in qualifying it became clear that Verstappen was faster than Hamilton. With four tenths it was not a small margin. Yet Smedley saw room for improvement in Lewis.

Hamilton's mistake

''The cars are very close, but you can see from the data in the second sector that the Red Bull is just a little bit better on the asphalt there. However, if we then look at mistakes, we see a moment of oversteer by Hamilton coming out of turn ten, and there he already loses two tenths,'' Smedley says in F1TV's Weekend Debrief.

Another major issue was the Track Limit Hamilton allegedly exceeded in turn four during the race, and the advantage he gained from that. However, according to Smedley, according to the data, that wasn't too bad. ''Over the whole race he gains two seconds. So it's a marginal difference, where Verstappen might have caught up with him a bit earlier in the race.''

Red Bull on the defensive

Things went wrong for Red Bull Racing earlier on, however. An undercut by Hamilton forced Red Bull Racing into a predicament. Verstappen had a lead, but how quickly would it disappear if Hamilton drove on new hard tyres? Too quickly, according to Smedley's analysis.

''The moment Red Bull has to make the call to bring Verstappen in, he is already behind Hamilton according to the simulations' calculation. Only an excellent pit stop would allow him to get just in front, but that's why Red Bull opted for a different strategy,'' concludes the former engineer of Felipe Massa.