Red Bull: A Weekend in the Background
The Austrian team did not weigh in the fight for victory this time. The result was a modest fifth place for Ricciardo and worse, a retirement for Max Verstappen due to a brake problem!
Unlike the Red Bull Ring, two cars were missing at Silverstone to complete the thrilling battle for victory. The Red Bull team hardly existed during this British weekend. Already seven-tenths off pole position on Saturday, both drivers stayed away from the lead on Sunday, still taking advantage of the Hamilton-Räikkönen collision to occupy third and fourth place in the first part of the race. The team’s moment of glory was this duel with Kimi Räikkönen, as in the 39th lap, from the straight to Brooklands to the Copse curve.
Ricciardo gets the bare minimum.
The Australian driver is in a slump. After being the main attraction in Monaco, Daniel Ricciardo has been on a streak of four races without a podium, capped by this fifth place secured at Silverstone.
« We weren’t in shape », acknowledged “Dan the Man” at the end of the race. « I still had some good battles with Max and Kimi. The car was good in the cool air. But we didn’t have the speed on the straights. »
Bad luck for him, he made a second pit stop on the 30th lap, three laps before the first appearance of the safety car, following Marcus Ericsson’s crash.
« We stopped at the last minute and lost positions. We were a bit unlucky. »
At the end of the race, he couldn’t even take advantage of the battle between the Mercedes and the Ferraris, staying behind Bottas, who was struggling with his tires.
I got closer but without being able to overtake him. I killed my tires getting closer to him. The grip disappeared once I found myself behind him. As soon as I missed the exit of the turn, I had blisters on my tires.
A new complicated weekend for “Dan the Man”, who had already experienced a DRS issue during qualifying. Not to mention the retirement in Austria seven days ago, even as Max Verstappen clinched the victory.
« From Monaco, things are not really going our way. I hope my victory there is not my last of the season! I look forward to the rest week. »
The decline in Ricciardo’s results is evident by the following observation: he scored 22 points during the France-Austria-Great Britain sequence, which is less than his victory at the end of May.
🗣 “I guess since Monaco we haven’t really had things going our way.” 🏁 @danielricciardo following the #BritishGP 🇬🇧👉 https://t.co/MURjRl5Dp5 #F1 pic.twitter.com/LY4fH8IIBp
— Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) 8 juillet 2018
Verstappen retires due to brake issues
Third at the start of the race, Verstappen quickly fell behind Vettel, trailing by more than 10 seconds after 10 laps. More inspired than his teammate by changing his tires during the Safety Car’s intervention, the Dutchman still enjoyed an intense battle with Räikkönen on lap 43. However, a damaged clutch and a car stuck in fourth gear forced him to retire on lap 47.
“I had brake issues from the first corner,” complained the 20-year-old driver to the journalists. “The pedal extended in the third corner before returning to normal right after. Then, after the second safety car, I braked in turn 16 and the pedal went to the floor again. My rear brakes locked up, and I spun. We now need to investigate to analyze the issue.”
Max Verstappen, however, emerges in a better position from the France-Austria-Great Britain triptych, with a second place at Le Castellet and a victory at the Red Bull Ring. On the other hand, the title ambitions are increasingly reduced for both drivers and the team… Unless the two upcoming races in Germany and Hungary are the last chance revival?
A mini-epic, courtesy of Kimi and Max (sound 🔊)#BritishGP 🇬🇧 #F1 pic.twitter.com/Qf2qTUBKlf
— Formula 1 (@F1) 8 juillet 2018
