F1 aero chief declares key area Red Bull are NOT quickest
F1 aero chief declares key area Red Bull are NOT quickest
One F1 team has highlighted its straight line speed advantage at the Saudi Arabia GP last weekend - and it's not Red Bull.
Max Verstappen led most of the laps at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, finishing 13 seconds ahead of teammate Sergio Perez to achieve his 56th career win.
READ MORE: EXCLUSIVE: F1 champion insists Red Bull NOT responsible for 2023 success
The two Red Bull drivers were followed by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, and Oscar Piastri in the McLaren.
George Russell managed to finish 6th in the Mercedes, with the team currently sitting in 4th in the constructors, clear there is still work to be done.
Shovlin acknowledges Mercedes straight line speed advantage
Despite not being as quick as their rivals, Mercedes Trackside Engineering Director Andrew Shovlin identified the strengths of the car.
“We were actually one of the fastest cars, if not the fastest car, in a straight line,” Shovlin said in a Mercedes post-race debrief video.
“So we’re on quite a light wing level and what we could do is slow ourselves down in sector two and three to try and recover a bit of that time in sector one.
“But ideally we’d like to keep that and work out a way to try and improve sector one by means other than just putting a load more downforce on the car and then paying the price for it on the straight.”
READ MORE: Hamilton demands 'BIG changes' amid Mercedes frustration
Shovlin also analysed where Mercedes could improve their performance for the next race.
He added: “The big one is we don’t really have enough grip there [Saudi]. So that’s one of the things that we are working hard on this week because Melbourne has a similar nature of corners. We’re doing a lot of work to try and understand why we did not seem to have the grip of some of our close competitors.”
READ MORE: Hamilton BLASTS F1 over handling of Horner controversy
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
Verstappen sent Horner CLEAR message before Newey bombshell
- 16 minutes ago
Horner admits Red Bull star may NEVER return to team
- 1 hour ago
F1 team OFFICIALLY confirms signing of new lead driver
- 2 hours ago
F1 News Today: Hamilton hints Newey Ferrari move as Verstappen takes swipe at F1 rival
- Today 06:57
Newey Red Bull EXIT date revealed as F1 star confirmed at new team - GPFans F1 Recap
- Yesterday 23:57
Verstappen takes F1 swipe at Hamilton and rivals with ruthless remark
- Yesterday 22:57
Related news
Verstappen takes F1 swipe at Hamilton and rivals with ruthless remark
BLOW for former F1 champion as Mercedes preferences revealed
Incredible statistic puts Verstappen AHEAD of Hamilton record
Mercedes star tipped to replace struggling driver THIS season
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860