The leader of the world Max Verstappencontinues the sprint towards the world title. The bitter defeat at home, in Austria put the young Dutch champion on the defensive axis, like a predator waiting for its prey. He is Charles Leclerc on the track they manage to express their nature 100%, limiting themselves to a fair fight and healthy competition. Although the points lost by Max in Austria are not many, the fear of being able to make mistakes again and leave the doors open to the opponents remains. For this to the Red Bull in France will serve the perfect weekend, also considering the return of the Mercedes, who at Paul Ricard has all the credentials to get back into the game, aiming for something more than just a podium.
A three-way fight? likely
According to Max Mercedes in France will make life difficult for Red Bull and Ferrari. Furthermore, the fact that the Brackley team has never had any reliability problems yet makes it the best candidate to win in case of problems from the opponents. Lewis Hamilton in Austria he conquered his third consecutive podium and at Paul Ricard he has always done well, winning 2 victories out of 3 editions of the GP.
“I expect a tough battle for the win. Whether Mercedes can be of the fight? Maybe yes, but I hope not“, commented the Dutchman in pre-weekend interviews. “I think we got some judgments wrong at the Red Bull Ring, but we learned a lot. Our top speed was good, but if you lose more than you can afford in the corner, you still get into trouble and that's what happened to us. We learned our lesson and now we are preparing to face a weekend with a normal format. "
Watch the weather
In Austria, Red Bull had to contend with unexpected tire degradation, son of a non-ideal set-up. In France the traditional weekend format will give the team more time to test the ideal configuration. However, a weekend with almost prohibitive temperatures is expected at Le Castellet, but this doesn't worry Max excessively, who would be more afraid of a race in Monaco, with the extremely humid climate.
"As for the temperature, it's very hot, but it's still better than in Monte Carlo, where it's even wetter. So I'm happy to be here and that this isn't the weekend of the Monaco Grand Prix. I think we've done well at this circuit in recent years, but the past is no longer a guarantee of results, because there are new machines and rules, everything has changed in practice. Anyway I can not wait to run and of see how the tires behave in this heat, which is already hard for us, let alone for tires and engine. It will be a tough raceMax concluded.
Source statements: FormulaPassion
