Analysis Friday | Mercedes and Red Bull almost equal in the longruns

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen are having a close battle in the long runs. Sergio Perez is also showing strength at this track and Valtteri Bottas' grid penalty will not have much impact according to Auto Motor Und Sport. This is because the track wear is extremely high, so a two-stop finish is expected in the race.

The race between Mercedes and Red Bull is very close, both in one lap and over the longruns. Hamilton is on average two tenths faster than Verstappen in his race simulation, but the seven-time world champion divided his medium longruns over two sections of six and four laps. Verstappen drove eleven laps in one go. This means, according to AMuS, that both longruns will be about the same speed. The same goes for Perez, who drove even a lap longer on the medium tire than his teammate.

Top speed almost the same

In the afternoon Mercedes and Red Bull were practically equal on the straights. This is because Red Bull drove with less power in the morning. The difference in top speed was 5.1 km/h in the first session. In the afternoon the difference was put into perspective. Hamilton was measured at 321.8km/h on the long straight, Verstappen at 318.4km/h.

In the midfield Aston Martin seems to have the strongest car, but Alpine is better in the longruns. McLaren showed during FP2 that they are also in a strong position, while Ferrari is still a bit behind.

Long run times