Red Bull have built themselves a rocket ship. They have the fastest car out there but the thing that has really stood out this year is their straight-line speed. It meant that Max was able to BLAST past everyone on the way to winning his last 3 races. But where does this great straight-line speed come from?
Max Verstappen and Red Bull keep on winning. Since the Formula 1 summer break, this combination has won all three events in Belgium, Holland and at the Monza circuit. They have won in different ways but there is a consistent factor in these varied wins – their straight-line speed.
In short, this speed means Red Bull are able to defend and overtake more easily than others. This is backed up by the data as the Red Bull was able to average 2kph more than Ferrari and 5kph more than Mercedes through the speed trap without DRS throughout the race at Circuit Zandvoort. With DRS activated – the delta actually got bigger, particularly over the Mercedes, which now became 10kph slower. And this is when both have DRS open. In a situation when the Red Bull is attacking, they can have over 20kphs advantage, which for Formula 1 standards, is a no contest.
In contrast, during the Italian Grand Prix weekend, Red Bull ran a higher downforce configuration of rear wing and this helped them manage their tyre wear in the race, while not compromising their straight-line speed to be able to defend against Charles Leclerc’s advances in the final part of the Monza race, as explained by British racing driver and YouTube personality Scott Mansell in this video:
— see video above —
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