Video analysis on the Formula1.de YouTube channel
The Portuguese Grand Prix Analysis: How Red Bull Was Haunted By Track Limits. Where Bottas is inferior to Hamilton. And how Toto Wolff smugly treats Helmut Marko.
Christian Nimmervoll and Stefan Ehlen always discuss their columns on Mondays “Who slept worst / best last night” and analyze Formula 1. Now new: The date of the YouTube premiere is now 7:00 pm instead of 5:00 pm!
Today’s Topics:
00:00 Intro
00:37 Slept best: Mick Schumacher
02:51 Track limits cost Verstappen pole and point
05:54 World Cup duel Verstappen vs. Hamilton
08:16 What excuses Bottas had this time
11:18 Ocon: Colorless French surprised
13:10 Alonso: He can still do it!
14:25 Ricciardo: Not all bad
16:17 Norris: The surprise of the season
19:15 What went wrong at Ferrari?
23:10 Raikkonen: Is he getting too old?
26:03 Wolff taunts Marko
29:56 Sebastian Vettel
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That’s it for today!
With that we have already reached the end of our Monday sticker. Of course, there is more on our portal, and tomorrow my colleague Maria Reyer will welcome you to a new ticker. Finally, once again the note that it is on the Formula1.de YouTube channel our new video under the motto “Last Night” is from 7:00 pm today.
Christian Nimmervoll and Stefan Ehlen then work on all the important topics of the Portugal weekend. Have fun and see you then!
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Wolff: As much fun as not since 2013
“It’s a lot of fun,” says the Mercedes team boss, referring to the fight against Red Bull, and explains: “It’s like 2013, when we were competitive for the first time. […] If we make mistakes, then we lose. But that’s exactly how it should be. “We are very curious to see whether this back and forth in Barcelona will continue. According to Wolff, Mercedes is still in the role of the hunter despite the victory in Portugal.
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Our complete Portugal notes …
… from now on you can find it here! Among other things, there are the first points for Mick Schumacher – and a new overall leader in our ranking.
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Red Bull: Updates worked
Red Bull brought some upgrades to Portugal. You couldn’t win the race, but at least on the update front you are satisfied. “The upgrades were rather subtle, but they all worked very well and as planned. We are satisfied with the performance of the parts we brought with us,” said team principal Christian Horner.
You can watch the update again in this photo gallery:
Photo gallery: Formula 1 technology: The updates from Red Bull in Portimao
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Wolff: DTM also benefited from Saturday races
The Mercedes team boss explains with regard to the new sprint races: “All these years we have always resisted any format changes, because we thought or because I thought it was too ‘gimmicky’, too artificial, with a reverse grid. That is not what Formula 1 stands for. And I think we have now found a compromise so that we can try something new. “
The sprint races are a new aspect, “similar to what the DTM has tried in the past and benefited from. The number of spectators was higher. I also understand that an additional race start brings excitement. And now you just have to try it,” said Wolff . The sprint races are to be tested in three races this year.
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Experts are not yet writing off Vettel
With zero points from the first three races, the German had his worst start to the season since 2008. At least on Saturday, things went a little better this weekend. ‘Sky’ expert Ralf Schumacher explains that he trusts Vettel “definitely” to attack again at the very front. “We are talking about a multiple world champion”, he remembers and explains: “Of course he can drive a car.”
“He can do it quickly, but he needs the car to do it,” said Schumacher. Nico Rosberg sees it similarly. “He’s still in his prime racing driver’s age and we know he’s a great talent. […] If he feels comfortable in the car and keeps improving, then he can achieve top performances this year. We can look forward to the fact that things are moving forward, “said Rosberg.
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McLaren: In Barcelona wieder “Best of the Rest”?
At least that’s what team boss Andreas Seidl hopes. “With what we’ve seen in three races now, and knowing we’ll be bringing upgrades there, there’s no reason we shouldn’t be back in position to fight for P5 or to be third best team “said Seidl aggressively. And if something happens up front, another podium could jump out …
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Driver ratings from the editorial team
It was a pretty difficult birth this time! When it came to several pilots, the editors were far from unanimous. In the end we agreed on the following grades – and again only awarded a 1. Later, as usual, there is our large final account, which also includes the grades from our expert Marc Surer and those of the readers.
Photo gallery: Portimao: driver ratings from the editorial team
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Wolff: Red Bull cannot “lose at all” with engine project
The topic was off the track at the weekend for some excitement. “The truth is: I have no idea and it’s none of my business,” Wolff clarifies when asked. “But what Red Bull […] is quite clever. Namely, on the one hand, relying on your own power and setting up an engine department, while being able to fall back on Honda know-how and IP “, says Wolff.
The cops would do that, however, “without closing the door to win a large automobile manufacturer as a partner, which of course also benefits from the learning curve that Red Bull now has. That is actually a win-win situation, they can don’t lose, “said Wolff.
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A positive corona test
Formula 1 has published its official corona statistics again this week. In the week between last Monday and this Sunday, a total of 4,895 tests were carried out, only one of which was positive. Of course, it also plays a role that part of the paddock is already completely vaccinated.
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Has Red Bull lost performance?
At least that’s what Lewis Hamilton suspects. “I have the impression that Red Bull lost a bit of performance this weekend. Because I don’t think we have improved,” ponders the world champion. It was definitely tighter “for some reason”. But why was that now? And is that a trend? The answers may already be found in Barcelona …
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Barcelona is Mercedes country
Portimao was more of a Mercedes track at the weekend. The bad news for the competition: Historically, this also applies to Barcelona. Since the start of the hybrid era in 2014, Mercedes has won six out of seven races there. The last four races were all won by Lewis Hamilton. A small glimmer of hope for Red Bull, however: Max Verstappen was able to interrupt the Mercedes series in 2016.
We can all remember the circumstances well …
Photo gallery: GP Spain, highlights 2016
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Nissany drives FT1 for Williams
George Russell has a break on Friday morning, then test pilot Roy Nissany will take over the Williams again. In FT2, Russell is back in the cockpit. “I’m really excited to get back in the car. Barcelona was my first FT1 session last year and we’ve made great strides since then. I’m looking forward to showing that on the track,” said Nissany.
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Decent odds for Sky
RTL did not broadcast over the weekend. However, this had only a minor impact on the number of viewers on Sky. An average of 840,000 fans saw the race yesterday, only 70,000 more than in Imola, when RTL had also broadcast it. The strong 1.12 million viewers from the season opener in Bahrain could not be kept – which was not to be expected either.
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Norris: Too early for World Cup goals
Things are going much better on the other side of the McLaren garage. Norris is in P3 in the World Cup – ahead of Bottas and Perez. Nevertheless, it is still “far too early” to talk about goals in the World Cup now. But he knows with regard to Mercedes and Red Bull: “If they make mistakes, then we can be in front of them – like in Imola.”
“We are currently making the most of our options,” says Norris with satisfaction. But he also knows: “We definitely need a little more pace or performance to be able to do it consistently [mit Mercedes und Red Bull zu kämpfen]. “Across the seasons, Norris finished all of the last four races in the top five.
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