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Briatore disagrees with Red Bull strategy and points out where it went wrong
- GPblog.com
Flavio Briatore is critical of Red Bull's strategy during the Bahrain GP. The former team boss thinks Verstappen should have gone in immediately after Lewis Hamilton went for the undercut, which worked out perfectly for the Brit.
The tactics of Mercedes and Red Bull have been much discussed after Hamilton's win. For now, Mercedes are being credited with the win in this tactical joust and former team boss Briatore agrees.
"The mistake was that they (Red Bull) didn't call him (Verstappen) back to the pits earlier because he had used up his tyres and Hamilton kept taking 3-4 tenths a lap off him."
Verstappen didn't stop until several laps later, at the point when Hamilton was well within the 20 seconds, the approximate time required for a stop.
Giving the spot back
At the end of the race, Verstappen gave his first spot back to Hamilton to the displeasure of the Dutchman. According to Briatore it was the right decision: "The request to give back the position in the final? It was a correct decision of the team because they noticed it and then they get a phone call, that's normal."
The Italian expects a good fight between Verstappen and Hamilton and focuses mainly on the Dutchman: "There will be dominance in the Mercedes GP's, but Red Bull can certainly play along for the championship given the performance of Verstappen," the businessman told Adnkronos.