Return to business to be confirmed for Red Bull
Daniel Ricciardo refused to raise his ambitions despite a rather encouraging third-place finish on Friday. A collateral victim of Bottas' loss of the T-wing, Christian Horner took advantage of Max Verstappen's misfortunes to call for the banning of this wing.
Never has the RB13 been so close to the front this season! Already within half a second at the end of FP1 (four tenths away), the Australian got even closer during the second practice session, narrowing the gap to 66 thousandths behind the leader, still represented by Sebastian Vettel. Despite conditions similar to the upcoming Saturday qualifying session or Sunday’s race, “Dan the Man” kept his feet on the ground.
Ricciardo: FP1 -> 2nd (1:33.097 / 22 laps) / FP2 -> 3rd (1:31.376 / 28 laps)
« It wasn’t the qualifications, but if it had been, I would have taken that result! I’m still a bit angry, because we would have been very close to pole! I don’t read the results carefully because of the fuel loads. »
Despite finishing ahead of Räikkönen and Hamilton after FP2, the smiling Red Bull driver still dodges the issue, relying on the supposed level of competitiveness between the leading cars since the start of the season.
« All this doesn’t make much sense compared to a week ago. So we are very cautious; even if we did everything we wanted to do, with many laps. But I expect Ferrari and Mercedes to widen the gap. »
However, the Austrian single-seaters stood out in China with a nice grouped finish, in third (Verstappen) and fourth position (Ricciardo), ahead of Räikkönen’s Ferrari and Bottas’s Mercedes. In Bahrain, this will require relying on a Max Verstappen spared from troubles.
Verstappen: FP1 -> 3rd (1:33.566 / 23 laps) / FP2 -> 8th (1:32.245 / 18 laps)
This was not the case during FP2. The young Dutchman was disadvantaged by the sudden detachment of Bottas’s T-wing. By running over a piece of debris from the appendage, the Red Bull driver damaged his floorboard, causing a delay in his preparation, about ten laps compared to the total covered by his teammate.
« I struggled a bit with the balance of my car, I didn’t have enough grip at the rear. The first session doesn’t really count because of the temperature difference. But in FP2, I lost track time by hitting another driver’s T-wing. To be honest, I’m surprised at the damage it caused to my floor. The team did a fantastic job changing it, I got back on track quickly. »
« The other side of the garage seemed quite competitive. Now, my goal for FP3 is to do as many laps as possible, in order to make up for the time I lost. Then, I’ll have a better idea of my target for the weekend. »
Bad luck in #FP2 caused some delay, so we still have set-up work to do tomorrow. Our pace isn’t too bad, but we’ll keep pushing! #BahrainGP pic.twitter.com/lzgAHredWh
— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) 14 avril 2017
Not a fan of this innovation, Christian Horner seized the opportunity to promote the removal of the T-wing. The director of the four-time world champion team made the following statement:
« I am probably the wrong person to ask because we don’t have it. But if he wanted to, Charlie (Whiting, the race director) has an opportunity to put safety first. »
We had £50,000 worth of repairs. So I think it should be banned, it destroyed our undertray and a side deflector! But I think they will be there for the rest of the season » he added, laconically.
In the spotlight for their flexibility, Christian Horner will likely be able to count on the support of Ross Brawn regarding this T-wing issue. The new F1 sporting director also wants to eliminate this feature, just like the shark fins. Stay tuned…
