Are Red Bull succumbing to the pressure exerted by McLaren and Ferrari in the 2011 Formula 1 season?
The Milton Keynes-based team Red Bull have been put under a lot of stress in the last few races of the 2011 season by Ferrari and McLaren, but the team remained cool and calm not only on the track but off the track as well.
But why that in the Montreal race did Sebastian Vettel panic and gave the first position away in the very last lap?
Looking at the last few races it became evident that Red Bull are not the only team knocking on the door of the championship.
Although both the drivers’ and constructors’ championship tables are led by Red Bull, yet the results and last minute fights to the chequered flag from Ferrari and McLaren made it clear that in near future, Red Bull will panic.
This was demonstrated by Vettel when he was unable to soak up the pressure of four hours of racing under rain with five safety cars involved and the last lap sudden challenge from Jenson Button of McLaren.
Although the rain, plenty of accidents and safety cars do throw the drivers off their concentration but still, in the same race, Button was able to win from 21st position in his last stint with five pit-stops and a drive through penalty.
Button was able to overtake the entire racing pack in a space of 20 odds laps which made the 2011 Canadian Grand Prix one of the best in history.
Vettel kept his cool for 69 laps of the race in the fastest car of the 2011 grid but in the very last lap, Button was lapping faster than him which contributed to the German’s mistake in the last lap at turn six.
Vettel’s rear tyre locked and he went off track for a mere moment which was enough for Button, who was roaring at that time.
Before the race in qualifiers, Ferrari were unstoppable as both Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa clocked some exceptional times in the early sessions. Finally, in the last qualifying session, Vettel took the pole position but the Scarlet duo was right on
his tail.
Apart from the Montreal race, Red Bull were very lucky in the Spanish and the Monaco Grands Prix where both McLaren and Ferrari were faster than the Milton Keynes-based team in the race.
The Monaco race saw Vettel struggling to hold onto his position when Alonso was roaring behind the German on a fresher set of tyres.
Red Bull took a gamble and opted to go for only one pit stop for Vettel which was about to prove costly for the German before the red flag was shown and his car tyres were changed.
Nevertheless, Red Bull and especially Vettel have shown that even the fastest car and champion driver can panic when pressure is exerted on them.
Moreover, the blown diffuser, which Red Bull brought and mastered in the 2011 season, is about to be banned from July’s Silverstone Grand Prix which will be a great setback for the team.
Although all top teams will suffer from the blow but it will be interesting to see how Red Bull soak up the pressure as after the diffuser, the gap between the top three teams is going to get minimal.
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