This weekend F1 enters its final stretch. The Jeddah street circuit, which opens on the calendar, will be the scene of the first boll match for Verstappen, so the tension between Red Bull and Mercedes promises to level up. In fact, the pilots have not yet arrived in the emirate and the teams are already fighting in the offices. Building on the significant performance and speed improvement of Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes, particularly at Interlagos, Red Bull has put its suspicions about the wing of the silver stars’ cars on the FIA table. According to the bull’s team, the spoiler is more flexible than what is allowed in the regulations, which would be giving it extra speed on the straights. Even the father of the Dutch driver, Jos Verstappen, spoke about this matter in an interview with ‘De Telegraaf’: “That huge difference in the straights from one race to another, I had not seen it in my life. FIA should follow closely. “
An advantageous situation of Mercedes that worries Red Bull a lot and more considering the characteristics of the Jeddah circuit, with a great main straight and very fast corners.
And it is that the advantage of Max Verstappen over Lewis Hamilton is minimal, 8 points and 52 that are still at stake. In any case, the Dutch could be proclaimed world champion this weekend, it is difficult but not impossible.
The possibilities for Max to win his first world title are varied but somewhat limited:
- If Verstappen is 1st and gets the fastest lap, Hamilton would have to be 6th or worse.
- If Max just wins and doesn’t have the fastest lap, Hamilton should be 7th or worse.
- If Max crosses the finish line 2nd and gets the fastest lap, Hamilton should finish 10th or worse.
- If Verstappen is 2nd without a fastest lap, Hamilton should not score.
So, Mercedes must at least finish in the top ten to force it to be the Arab Emirates GP where everything is decided, which would be the most normal. But beware, a reliability failure or an accident in the British driver’s race would allow Red Bull to celebrate the title early. It will not be easy because the circuit favors Mercedes and also, Hamilton comes from several consecutive victories and with a motivation that we had not seen in the English driver for years.
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