Red Bull has backed down from protesting against Mercedes, saying they see no reason to proceed with it.
The Milton-Keynes outfit has been complaining a lot regarding Mercedes’ newfound pace advantage. They also raised their issues with their new suspension setup, something they claimed was giving them a 15 kph boost.
All these issues look to be affecting the climax of the 2021 season, and seem to be taking the shine off the hard racing we have been seeing so far. As a result, Red Bull has backed down from protesting against Mercedes.
As quoted by grandpx.news, Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner said, “It’s (the suspension setup) something that has been used historically. We’ve seen it with them (Mercedes) in the past.
“We’ve never said we don’t think it’s legal, so therefore there would be absolutely no reason to protest.”
Red Bull leads the Drivers’ Championship through Max Verstappen. Former F1 team owner Giancarlo Minardi hailed him for fighting for the title despite these external affairs.
“He is clearly now driving with the title in mind,” the Italian said.
“He has put aside his most instinctive and aggressive intentions, like at the start when he tried to pinch (Lewis) Hamilton but pulled out of the manoeuvre (at the US GP).
“He did that wisely and then managed his tyres so well for the rest of the race.”
Worries
Mercedes, meanwhile, will be worried about their reliability. Their drivers have been frequently taking engine penalties, and their manufactured engines are not working very smoothly.
Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff said, “We understand what’s happening better now, but we cannot run the engines for as long as we’d like. And we cannot risk a DNF.
“Yes, of course we’re worried. There is a risk that we will have to make another change for Lewis as well.
“We are looking for the balance between keeping the engine and risking a defect or having new parts installed and being penalised,” he concluded.
Read more: Wolff dismissive of Red Bull’s tech complaints – “We are not allowed to touch that at all”