Red Bull are banking on smart thinking from the pit wall and the excellence of their driver Max Verstappen to again upset the Mercedes juggernaut and their one-second-per-lap faster race car.
The Black Arrows again locked out the front row for the Spanish Grand Prix at Circuit Barcelona-Catalunya, the deficit around half a second to their closest rival – Max.
Nevertheless, Red Bull team chief Christian Horner is confident his team have the brainpower to stop the World Champions. Last Sunday’s Silverstone thumping has inspired bullish soundbites from the Blue camp.
Ahead of Sunday’s race, Horner made no secret that creative and bold strategy can win the day, “It’s part of our DNA that we’re prepared to take risks, we’re prepared to stick our head out of the window sometimes.
“It’s not just the strategy team, it’s the whole team – I think they’re doing an amazing job, particularly trackside because we don’t have the quickest car at the moment, and therefore this team has proved itself time and time again to be able to adapt, to be quick-thinking and I think strategically we’ve been sharp this year.”
Verstappen lies second in the championship, 30 points behind Lewis Hamilton, and it might have been less had the Dutchman not suffered a DNF at the season opener.
Horner explained, “We could have won that first race in Austria with the strategy there. Obviously it worked in Budapest to split the Mercedes as well, and of course, taking the brave call that Max had to deliver on Saturday starting on the hard tyre [at Silverstone].”
Should the stars align for the #33 car, from P3 on the grid he will have a good run to the distant Turn 1 complex and thereafter, ascertain what hand he has been dealt, and proceed to strategise the best way to beat the Mercs fair and square, just as was done seven days ago.