Will the Bulls charge into title contention this year?
Released with all the pomp and circumstance of waking up and getting dressed, Red Bull released their images of the RB16 casually on Wednesday morning like they were holiday photos. No testing camouflage, no fancy release video, no nothing. Red Bull will certainly be hoping their season will be anything near as mundane.
Starting 2019 comfortably behind Mercedes and Ferrari, their season transformed to almost becoming title contenders around the summer break before being on a par with Mercedes at the tail end of the season. If 2020 is 2019 2.0 like everyone’s being saying then, Red Bull certainly have a lot to look forward to. Plus another iteration of a Honda power unit which is becoming increasingly like a no brainer decision to move away from Renault, sorry Tag Heuer power units. That drag race between Gasly, albeit in a Toro Rosso, and Hamilton had better be a sign of things to come. Impressive doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface, especially when you consider where Honda were 2 seasons before, let alone that infamous 2015 season.
I suppose the big question is, was that end of season form as promising as it seemed or did Mercedes, having realistically wrapped up both titles by France, and mathematically by America(?), ease off a little and or reduce R&D to focus on 2020? As much as we rightly slate Ferrari for iffy strategy calls, Mercedes can just be as fallible at times, especially when under pressure, Germany and Brazil comes to mind, for example. 2017 is arguably the only time where Mercedes have had an inter team battle for the title, and even then that notion dissipated after the summer break when Hamilton wrapped up the title with more ease than I did wrapping up Christmas presents last year. Sorry dad. Verstappen pulled out some incredible qualifying efforts which, when he got his starts sorted, really allowed him to control races and force Mercedes on the back foot like in Brazil, where Hamilton pushed too hard to make amends and ended up in 7th having punted Albon off the podium. It will be hard to see anyone but Hamilton and Mercedes putting their towels on the proverbial sunbeds, but if anyone’s going to do it surely it’s Red Bull.
One thing that would certainly help close the points gap is stability in its driver lineup. You never know with Red Bull but you would’ve thought Albon should see out a full season in the senior outfit. Whilst the difference between Gasly and Albon wasn’t exactly what you’d call stark, you would certainly say Albon was far more decisive in his overtaking manoeuvres than Gasly was which led to him being out of position on fewer occasions than Gasly. Having got the nod full time, you’d hope Alex will relax in the car a bit more and feel the need to overdrive the car much less. Having two drivers in the 2nd/3rd fastest car and neither one finishing 6th in the drivers’ standings is either great testament to Sainz in the McLaren or a little disappointment in the drivers of that second seat at Red Bull. In the end it was probably a bit of both. All in all, the goal for Albon is clear for 2020, show he deserves a seat at the top, and close the gap to Verstappen.
Stability in the driver lineup is also helped by the contract extension of Verstappen, which is very much a clear signal of intent from all involved parties. The form that Honda is showing, plus a major rule rejig next year, plus Hamilton not being tied down; it really shows that Red Bull want to build something great for Verstappen. It’s hard to believe he’s still only 22, having been in F1 for so long now. He’s still got so much of his career ahead of him, and as Vettel and Hamilton showed, it only takes getting ahead of the curve on a rule change before you’re toppling records left, right and centre. He could very easily match Schumacher and Hamilton in WDCs.
Of course this year there’s the Dutch GP where I reckon even if it’s another French GP, the crowd alone could turn it into a fantastic weekend regardless. If he can just turn the wick down on occasion, like at a Monaco practice session to not bin it at the swimming pool, he will become a very complete driver that is more than a handful for Lewis Hamilton. 2020 might not be his year, but building more momentum ahead of 2021 will be a very ominous sign for Mercedes.
George Talks 