Red Bull has been enjoying hegemony on the F1 grid for some time now. And a lot of credit for that goes to the engineers of the Austrian team for building the fastest car in the cost-cap era. In this new era, with the limitations to budget and all, there are a lot of teams that are facing problems adjusting. For instance, Mercedes, who was the dominant team during the turbo-hybrid era, cannot find a way to build a car to help them compete for the title in modern times.
The W13 last year and the W14 this season have come up with multiple issues. Now, the Brackley-based team is waiting for the upgrades to get their campaign back on track. However, Red Bull has figured out a way to keep building on their perfectly strong car. Moreover, they got the best drivers to get the most use out of the RB19 car. This is revealed by none other than one of the ex-Red Bull engineers. According to him, both Max Verstappen & Sergio Perez have an exceptional sense of tyres. They know when to speed up and when to save them.
Max Is Equally Good With Tyres As Perez
When the question comes up about the use of the tyres, Sergio Perez receives the credit for being a “Tyre Whisperer.” However, Helmut Marko and Blake Hinsey, former performance engineer, believe that Max Verstappen is equally skilled with the use of the tyres. Perez gained the tyre whisperer reputation during his days at Force India. At the time, the Mexican would earn points and even podium after a perfectly executed long-run strategy. Checo used the same thing after he joined Red Bull. As a result, he is doing pretty well, as he is only six points behind his teammate. Moreover, Max and Sergio have won two races each this season at present.
Looks like the two Red Bull drivers are heading to an exciting finish to the season. However, there are still 19 more races to go. But the question is why Red Bull is dominating the grid when others are facing a lot of issues. Is it just because of the fastest car that the engineers built? Actually, there is more to the team. The two drivers have a keen sense of using tyres. Blake Hinsey suggests that Verstappen is an equal monster like Checo, who knows when to save the tyres and when to go full throttle. Hence, it is clear why Red Bull is the biggest threat to the rest of the teams on the grid. Hinsey had worked with both Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen.
Red Bull Is Dominating Because Of These Skillful Drivers
Hinsey further explained why the Red Bull drivers were so good. He mentioned, “The data suggests the Mexican took his chances on the entries through the corner but lost out in the exit at different speeds.” On the other hand, Max Verstappen is always half a percent ahead of Sergio Perez on Traditional circuits.
The Dutchman always had clear upward gaps between him and Checo. However, on the street circuits, there is no gap between the two. Apparently, ‘Checo’ is really good at street circuits. He has established his dominance on street circuits after becoming the only racer to win two races at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.