It's "off-track" stuff where Red Bull have made a big jump on Mercedes as well plus having a better car. Pit stops better, strategy better (although helps having the better car). Possibly the number of staff Red Bull have been recruiting (and still are) from Mercedes making an impact. Over 50 making the switch on the engine side alone for the future.
Perez was crucial to red bull’s strategy, Bottas and Sergio will not only decide the constructors , but the driver’s championship too. Red bull knew that boxing max and leaving sergio out till the end meant that if merc pitted VB and LH they would have come out behind Perez , who wouldn’t have let them past by any stretch of the imagination. Perez and Bottas will be almost as crucial as Verstappen and Hamilton in strategy calls across the season
I agree, I believe Perez will want to please red bull to have the best chance Of staying in the red bull (especially due to the array of young talent they have) , and as you say bottas may have been told he isn’t in the car next year and doesn’t care , so won’t bow down to the team as much anymore , as seen at barcelona where he held up hamilton (or at least tried to)
Perez. Big plus for Red Bull. More experienced than their recent 2nd drivers. Great tyre manager which is massive in terms of strategy Vs Mercedes in that he may not win races but can severely disrupt Mercedes race plans.
He turns up on the Channel Four highlights programme quite a lot - he's the best thing on it! Also loved his reaction when pushed about Bottas raging about Merc not letting him do a two-stop - "I love it!" he said, delighted Bottas was showing some passion!
It's what he's good at though - being firm with his drivers, making sure they know he's in charge however much they earn (even Hamilton), but giving them enough leeway to be human, and acknowledging how they feel, encouraging competition, but not too far.
Sounds strange after recent seasons but also hats off to Honda for a good engine that doesn't breakdown all the time
They have an uncanny knack of pulling out of F1 just when they get it right!
Am I the only one who thinks he’s massively overrated? He’s a good character, but Norris has really shown him up so far this season.
I'm a big fan too. On his day a brilliant driver but just wonder whether the move to Renault was a paycheck move that coincided with Red Bull moving to a clear top driver strategy. Not sure he's as focussed as he used to be and that his time in F1 is probably nearing its end.
