Red Bull Racing is looking for answers to the question of why Lewis Hamilton’s race car on the planes of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix at Interlagos was so much faster than everyone, including teammate Valtteri Bottas, while interest in the German team’s winger is growing.
Hamilton was almost 30km / h faster than his rivals, giving the Briton a seemingly easy victory in Sunday's race, although he was disqualified on Friday and started the qualifying sprint race from last place and the Sao Paulo Grand Prix race from XNUMXth. places after finishing the sprint race in fifth and then losing five more starting places due to a change of engine.
At Red Bull, the British advantage aroused interest in how Mercedes gained so much at the final speed, but even before the sprint race they suspected that it was a flexible rear wing, which caused their racer Max Verstappen to break Parc Ferme's rules before qualifying and feel the rear W12 racing wings. The Dutchman was later fined a € 50.000 fine, and then speculation surfaced about the possibility of a protest against the Silver Arrow teams. But at Interlagos, Red Bull did not opt for the move as they want to gather more evidence and better understand what is going on in the rival race car.
“We’re not going to protest after this race because we need to understand where that speed is coming from,” Red Bull boss Christian Horner said before the race in Sao Paulo. “They had a new powertrain and raced with wings set for Monaco, but Lewis was almost 30km / h faster than Max when he overtook him. We need to understand this, but it is up to the FIA to make sure the race cars are in line with the rules. We trust them completely, as well as their methods of control. ”
Horner said Verstappen was powerless against Hamilton because of the difference in final speed. “We fought as hard as we could. Max did his best, racing for the knife, but there was no way he could keep Lewis behind. ”
However, speculations have surfaced online about whether Mercedes is using a different version of the DAS system this time, which last year changed the geometry of the front wheels by moving the steering wheel back and forth. This one is banned this year, but rumors have been fueled by an onboard clip from Hamilton’s race car, which shows the steering wheel moving away from the racer again when braking.
Mercedes responded to the rumors by explaining that the shot was an optical illusion or signs of wear on parts of the car. “The steering system has been homologated since the beginning of the season, so it is the same all year round. Any further explanation from this, as already mentioned, is a conspiracy theory, ”they added.
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