F1 | Red Bull at a reduced pace, Mercedes: favored by the slow race

Max Verstappen in Jeddah had left six points on the field against Sergio Perez. Two weeks later he ended the away match in Melbourne in his favor with a “+14” against his teammate who shaped his first break of the season. The substance that emerged during the Albert Park weekend was the same as in the previous two stages, but the form was different. Verstappen granted twelve laps of leadership to the Russell-Hamilton tandem, then with an overtaking on Lewis which is the manifesto of the current values ​​on the field, he took the lead and went into management mode.

Max controlled the race to his liking, pushing a few laps and cruising at reduced pace in the remaining laps when the lead over Hamilton was reduced to ten seconds. Verstappen is fully aware that he can count on a technical advantage that he has never had since he has been in Formula 1, and his approach has also changed accordingly.

At the start he didn’t want to force the “Verstappen” when the two Mercedes attacked him, aware of the potential of the RB19 he limited the risks and waited for the right moment to put things right.

George Russell, Mercedes W14, retired after the engine knockout

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

After the race George Russell pointed out that Red Bull had hidden its potential, which was probably true, but today there wasn’t even a reason to show it. “You can always ask your team what it means to have this advantage – Horner commented sarcastically in response to Russell – they know it very well”.

If Perez was unable to go beyond the fifth final position, it is only due to the effort his tires put through in the comeback from the rear and the layout of a track which is not as easy as it seems in terms of overtaking.

The only reason for concern for the Red Bull box was related to reliability, and of course the three starts. “That’s always the most vulnerable phase of every Grand Prix – Horner commented – and when you do three in one afternoon there’s always a bit of worry. Just a detail or a small mistake and you can pay a heavy price”.

The superiority of Red Bull convinced Hamilton and Mercedes that they had brought home the best possible result. Before the start, both the team weren’t sure they could confirm themselves as second force, but lap after lap the dynamics of the race went towards Hamilton.

The forced switch to hard tires triggered by the first red flag forced all the drivers to race at reduced pace to avoid a second stop, and this was a panacea for Hamilton, who was able to control Alonso knowing that even the Aston Martin was not he could have pushed hard.

On Sunday for Mercedes, which brought the team its first podium of the season, Russell’s kappaò must also be taken into account. The reasons for the failure of the English power unit will emerge only after the analysis that will be carried out in the next few days at the Brixworth headquarters, but it is clear that it is an alarm that should not be underestimated.

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin F1 Team, 3rd position, celebrates with his team in Melbourne

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

Thanks to Russell’s retirement, Mercedes did not confirm its second strength in the day’s loot. To the eighteen points won by Hamilton, Aston Martin responded with the twenty-seven brought home by the Alonso-Stroll tandem.

For Fernando, the third podium in a row is a good result but not as rewarding as the previous two, and not just because it’s in the nature of things to get used to the third-placed cup as well. With Perez out of contention for the top-3, Alonso was hoping for something more, but when he tried to annoy Hamilton he immediately realized he had no chance. He too, like everyone else, had to manage a long part of the Australian Grand Prix as an endurance race.