You are mixing qualifying and race performances. So called 50 HP disadvantage is in quali mode where Mercedes and Ferrari turn up their engines to the max. In races, that difference is much lesser as Merc and Ferrari can't use the same power mode in races. Race results are a combination of various different factors and doesn't reflect the actual performance of a car, all the time. For instance, Vettel took out Bottas in France that allowed the good result to Verstappen. In Germany, Vettel crashed out allowing one higher finish for Ver. So, essentially, the RB won on merit towards the end of the year.Wouter wrote: ↑26 Dec 2018, 21:25Strong results at the end of the saeson?And my original comment stands, the RB "chassis" (i.e. car excluding the PU) was possibly the most improved of 2018, but certainly not the best of 2018.
These are the results of Max Verstappen after the 4e race of the season with a car that had more than 50 HP less power than Ferrari and Mercedes. I think that says enough.
SPA. 3... MON. 9 ... CAN. 3... FRA. 2... ÖST. 1... GBR. 15†... GER. 4... HON. DNF... BEL. 3... ITA. 5... SIN. 2... RUS. 5... JPN. 3... AUS. 2... MEX. 1... BRA. 2... ABU. 3...
On a circuit like Singapore which is all chassis, which is tailor made for Red Bull and a nightmare circuit for Mercedes, the RB14 finished behind Mercedes. Especially, when Mercedes had struggled in Monaco where RB was dominant.