Austrian Grand Prix
Max Verstappen has already won back-to-back races and he’ll be gunning for his third straight when Formula One holds their second event at Red Bull Ring for the upcoming Austrian Grand Prix.
After alternating wins with Lewis Hamilton to start the 2021 F1 season, Max Verstappen started to gain the advantage for Red Bull ever since the Monaco Grand Prix.
They have been firing on all cylinders lately and that has put a big target on their backs for these next few races.
Meanwhile, Mercedes are in unchartered territory and they are plotting to break Red Bull’s stronghold for the top spots. However, it will be much easier said than done.
As SBOTOP continues to cover the 2021 F1 season, today let’s take a look at some of the newest Austrian Grand Prix 2021 updates.
Red Bull slowly breaking away from the pack
Because of their winning streak, Red Bull are now in charge since they’re at pole position both in the drivers and constructors standings.
As of this writing, Red Bull have 252 points while their closest opponents in Mercedes have 212 points. On the other hand, Max Verstappen has 156 points and he holds an 18-point lead over rival Lewis Hamilton.
Much of their success is because of their RB16 car since it has blown away the competition with its absurd pace and power. In fact, Lewis Hamilton painfully admitted recently that they had “no answers” for them during the Styrian Grand Prix.
The RB16’s superb track performance has also helped Sergio Perez since he has now finished within the Top 4 for the fourth straight time since finishing fifth in the Spanish Grand Prix last May.
But despite their seemingly unassailable lead, Max Verstappen said that there’s more to come from Red Bull since they’re laser-focused on winning it all this season.
The Dutchman is expecting a tighter battle in the Austrian Grand Prix and he’ll look to gain the upper hand anew by gunning for his fourth pole in a row this weekend.
Mercedes must look themselves at the mirror
Mercedes have not been performing up to their usual standards since they have grown complacent in terms of their car’s performance.
Lewis Hamilton described it perfectly when asked about it, saying that the team should take notes to what Red Bull have been doing since they’ve been a major thorn to their side.
“I don’t remember the last time we brought an upgrade, but they have. They’ve clearly brought the engine upgrade and they’ve brought some other part of the package and it’s just eked them ahead,” said Hamilton.
“With speed like that, we’ve not really got much we can do so we’ve just got to keep pushing. I’ve got confidence in the team that we’ll somehow find something,” he added.
During the French Grand Prix, Mercedes’ frustrations have come to a head when Valtteri Bottas slammed the team’s one-stop strategy since it left them vulnerable late.
“Why the f— does no one listen to me when I say it’s going to be a two-stopper? F—ing hell?,” shouted Bottas in the team radio.
The original plan was to have a pit stop in the 32nd lap for medium tyres, but Mercedes eventually decided to leave both Hamilton and Bottas out until the end of the race driving with worn hard tyres.
Other than their lacklustre car’s power, Mercedes also need to re-examine their strategies for the Austrian Grand Prix.
The Silver Arrows need a huge bounce back performance this weekend if they’d want to catch up with Red Bull.
History
The Austrian Grand Prix has been held in various stretches from 1964, 1970-1987, 1997-2003 up until it was officially included in the Formula 1 calendar in 2014.
In the 39 events total since its inception, Alain Prost holds the most wins by a driver with three, while the likes of Michael Schumacher, Nico Rosberg, Max Verstappen, and Valtteri Bottas have two each.
Valtteri Bottas won last year’s edition as he fended off Lewis Hamilton’s challenge while overcoming three safety car restarts.
Joining him at the podium at the time were Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris, who finished second and third respectively.
What are the odds?
With all momentum on his side, Max Verstappen is heavily favoured to win here as per the latest Austrian Grand Prix 2021 odds.
The Dutchman is pegged at 1.45, whereas Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton are poised to grab the other podiums spots at 1.75 and 2.07 respectively.
Sergio Perez is also in a good position since he’s priced at 2.25 and we wouldn’t be surprised if he somehow joins his Red Bull teammate in the Top 3.
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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