Breaking news
Formula 1 Sakhir GP
Verstappen: "Very tough" to beat Mercedes even without Hamilton
Max Verstappen believes it will be “very tough” for Red Bull to beat Mercedes in Bahrain this weekend even in the absence of Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton.
Luke Smith
Edited: Dec 4, 2020, 12:50 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Seven-time world champion Hamilton will miss this weekend’s Sakhir Grand Prix after testing positive for COVID-19 on Monday.
His place at Mercedes will be taken by Williams regular George Russell, who will partner Valtteri Bottas.
Red Bull driver Verstappen has finished second to Hamilton on five occasions this season, but did not believe the absence of the Mercedes driver would improve his chances of winning in Bahrain.
“There is no Lewis, but there’s Valtteri and George, driving the fastest car in the field,” Verstappen said.
“It will still be very tough and not easy, especially with the layout we have.
“Lap times will be very close, also with the guys behind us from last week. I don't expect it to be very easy out there.”
Read Also:
- Bahrain 'oval' has a “strange, aggressive" kerb - Gasly
- The effort Mercedes made to get Russell ready
- Bottas unsure whether to laugh or cry over bad F1 luck
F1 will use the high-speed outer loop layout of the Bahrain International Circuit for the first time this weekend, promising lap times of under 55 seconds and just four braking points.
Red Bull tended to struggle on the low downforce tracks earlier in the 2020 season, particularly at Monza.
“[The layout] will only help the cars which have a lot of power, so I expect it to be a little bit more difficult for us,” Verstappen said.
“I really hope it’s not going to be like Monza, but we have to wait and see. The track of course is a bit different compared to Monza. There are still I think a few corners where you can make a bit more of a difference.
“Monza you run really low downforce, everyone runs very, very low downforce. You just really lack on the straights.
“I think here there will be a bit of difference in terms of downforce levels. But yeah, let’s hope and pray it’s going to be better.”
Verstappen finished second in Bahrain last weekend, but was left unhappy that Red Bull had not been more aggressive with its race strategy.
The Dutchman said the team had reviewed and discussed it, and was hopeful of a bolder approach this weekend.
“I just commented on last weekend that we were a bit conservative, so I can only really comment on that,” Verstappen said.
“We have analysed it, and I think that’s good. We’ll see what we can do this weekend, see if we can do it better.”
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Grosjean eyes private F1 test if he can’t race in Abu Dhabi
Next article Ferrari's chassis engineering head Resta moves to Haas
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Luke Smith
1998 Belgian GP: When the Schumachers went to war
Formula 1
Formula 1
1998 Belgian GP: When the Schumachers went to war
The race that transformed perceptions of Red Bull
Formula 1
Formula 1
The race that transformed perceptions of Red Bull
Hamilton in the process of selecting Brad Pitt’s co-star for F1 movie
Formula 1
Formula 1
Hamilton in the process of selecting Brad Pitt’s co-star for F1 movie
More from
Max Verstappen
Max Verstappen "needs to understand what happened" after "night and day" F1 comeback in Brazilian GP
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
29 min
Max Verstappen "needs to understand what happened" after "night and day" F1 comeback in Brazilian GP
‘I’ll try to win, somehow’ – Can Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen fight back for F1 Brazilian GP victory?
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
8 h
‘I’ll try to win, somehow’ – Can Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen fight back for F1 Brazilian GP victory?
More from
Red Bull Racing
F1 Brazilian GP: Sunday schedule, weather forecast and how to watch
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
F1 Brazilian GP: Sunday schedule, weather forecast and how to watch
Max Verstappen watched Premier League football during Brazilian GP qualifying delay: "12 hours I'll never get back"
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
Max Verstappen watched Premier League football during Brazilian GP qualifying delay: "12 hours I'll never get back"
Latest news
Robert Kubica announces exit from AF Corse’s privateer Hypercar in WEC
WEC
WEC WEC
Monza
2 min
Robert Kubica announces exit from AF Corse’s privateer Hypercar in WEC
Charles Leclerc penalised for Liam Lawson clash; Kimi Antonelli and Oliver Bearman also punished after F1 Brazilian GP
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
27 min
Charles Leclerc penalised for Liam Lawson clash; Kimi Antonelli and Oliver Bearman also punished after F1 Brazilian GP
Max Verstappen "needs to understand what happened" after "night and day" F1 comeback in Brazilian GP
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
29 min
Max Verstappen "needs to understand what happened" after "night and day" F1 comeback in Brazilian GP
LIVE: NASCAR Cup season finale at Homestead lap-by-lap updates
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
54 min
LIVE: NASCAR Cup season finale at Homestead lap-by-lap updates
Feature
Discover prime content
How F1’s rules got to be so complex
Formula 1
By Pat Symonds
How F1’s rules got to be so complex
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe