Red Bull's driver Sebastian Vettel not taking things easy: Formula 1 News
Red Bull’s driver, Sebastian Vettel, was confident about his chances in this years Formula 1 season, but wasn’t taking things easy. The start to the 2011 season has been exceptional for Vettel, winning the opening two races and finishing second in the third.
However, McLaren have posted a serious threat to the reigning champions after claiming the Chinese Grand Prix.
The next race of the season will take place in Turkey on Sunday, May 8, 2011 and the young German stated, “Turkey is a hard track on tyres and it's usually quite hot there – but I especially like the place as it's where I had my first F1 test drive.”
He further added, “Our car should be strong there, but of course we have to respect our competitors and can never take anything for granted. People are pushing hard, but we are pushing very hard too to maintain our strengths.”
Strategy will yet again be important in the next race of the season, as there is a lot of wear expected on the Pirelli tyres. The teams may go for a four-stop strategy, considering the high track temperature and the bumpy surface. However, some teams might
gamble with one less stop, which is unlikely to pay-off in Turkey.
Red Bull will be quite focussed to get their strategy right for the next race, as they were believed to lose the race due to it. Vettel stopped just twice in the Chinese GP, which was one less than his rival Lewis Hamilton. The Brit took advantage of his
fresher tyres and gained a lot of time in the last few laps.
The youngest Formula 1 champion was unable to hold his position for long in the race and Hamilton eventually overtook him on the 52nd lap. The reigning champion blamed the strategy for his lack of speed in the last half, but claimed to bounce
back in the upcoming races.
Red Bull’s team principal, Christian Horner, didn’t agree with his driver, claiming the result would have been the same even with three-stops for Vettel. However, the overall results of the race did suggest that drivers with an additional stop benefited
most.
Vettel’s team-mate Mark Webber was a prime example of that, as the Australian had gained 15 positions in the race after stopping thrice for a tyre change. The veteran driver had some issues with the Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) on his car, which
limited his speed in the qualifiers. He had to start the race from 18th on the grid, but was lightning fast on fresher tyres in the race.
On the other hand, both Ferrari drivers, Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso, stopped twice in the race and were unable to challenge the front-runners. They were outpaced by Red Bull, McLaren and Mercedes, who all finished ahead in the race.
Tags: