Thread by @fiagirly

#F1: Post-US Grand Prix, Helmut Marko explained Verstappen’s miss at the start was a result of the pressure point of the clutch not being optimal. He also mentioned that they’ve noticed how Mercedes is “not so competitive with full tanks,” which they [Red Bull] assume is an issue

Mercedes have with their engine power (Mercedes denies this)

Notwithstanding the bad start from Verstappen, his early pit call on lap 11 helped him gain track position because Mercedes’ data did not give them a window to react [that early], hence Hamilton running longer on the

mediums for another 6 laps.

“We could not think of a tire replacement at that early stage, because otherwise we could not have driven a two-stop race based on our data,” explained Toto Wolff.

Verstappen’s second (early) stop was triggered by him accelerating immediately after getting fresh tyres on lap 11

so that the undercut could safely succeed, in what he later paid for in the stint with declining tyres and a fast approaching Hamilton.

Lucky for him, there was (always) just enough tyre delta at the end to react to any advantage Hamilton might’ve picked up.

Mercedes struggled with dirty air. It was no issue for Hamilton to catch up to Verstappen, but being right behind the RB16B negated the advantage they had on the straights, especially after their decision to sacrifice top speed for a little more reliability after not lowering the

rear of the car. But Wolff seemed confident in their driver, so much that he believed that with “two more laps, and we might have packed it.” (Toto Wolff)

Ferrari was also a team that maximised their gambles.

Charles Leclerc, finishing 24.6s ahead of Daniel Ricciardo’s McLaren said that “Every lap felt like a qualifying round,” to his great race.

The Ferrari was, on average, almost half a second per lap faster than the McLaren

on race pace. This resulted from them being able to trim their car to maximum downforce without losing to the straights, in contrast to Mercedes.

This [trim] would have been unthinkable a few weeks ago, but is possible with the hybrid upgrade since Russia.

The SF21 has more steam at the corner exit and more electric reserve at the end of the straight line. Ferrari was good in Austin in all types of corners - whether fast or slow.

In fact, the SF21 was so quick, they believe that Carlos Sainz would’ve “easily” finished fifth had it not been for the 5.6s pit stop.

The fact that the car was this fast leaves team principal Mattia Binotto extremely confident for the next races.

Reported by AMuS (Germany)

auto-motor-und-sport.de/formel-1/gp-us…