[ 2020 ] Aston Martin RedBull Racing F1 Team - Honda

[JordanMugen]

@vetteleclerc
Helmut Marko confirms to ORF that Max Verstappen broke one of only two available new front wings at the kerb in Turn 6.

Helmut Marko: "Therefore we can no longer equip both cars in the same way and Alex Albon can't have the new front wing."

This seems unethical. Surley if Verstappen broke his new wing, then Verstappen must be the one who has to use the old wing?

If Albon managed to not break his new wing, than surely he can use it for qualifying and the race!?

Max stated he tested the limits today so he didn’t have to do that tomorrow.

But he broke his front wing and would normally have to use old parts, if not for dubious unequal driver status.

I'm a Verstappen RBR-Honda fan by the way, but this is going too far and is unreasonable IMO.

He hasn't driven an F1 car in 5 months, like a rotor after a stormy night, it takes a little use to get the rust off.

That's all fine, but surely if you break YOUR new spec wing... the one that was made for you, then you should be the one who has to use the old spec wing!?

[101FlyingDutchman]

How black and white do you need to have the No1 and no2 driver situation. It sucks for Albon but he’s in the 2nd best car and can really make a name for himself. It just comes with an acceptance that the team is build around Max

[godlameroso]

Let's be honest, who has the best chance to win, Verstappen or Albon?

[McMika98]

How black and white do you need to have the No1 and no2 driver situation. It sucks for Albon but he’s in the 2nd best car and can really make a name for himself. It just comes with an acceptance that the team is build around Max

Yet people expect Albon to be within few tenths of Max despite having everything stacked in favour of Max. Come Q3, won't be surprised if he is asked to tow Max to get the extra tenths.
Albon was second best in the high speed corners, his time to shine will come in Silverstone. Looking at the on-board, Max is hitting the apexes perfectly all lap. Albon on the other hand is taking new lines all the time, he is still experimenting setup and lines.

[Wynters]

Why are people surprised? Think back to Webber and Vettel in...Silverstone (?) back in 2010. Red Bull have pretty much always had a number one driver and there's no reason to change it for the current era. These days, race wins are more important than net points for advertising so they will, quite logically, pick one driver, super-hype him and push the entire team into getting that driver wins. Did anyone really think that Gasly was on the same optimal strategies and using a car of equal performance as Max lapped him? Or that Ricciardo was solely at fault for Baku? Does anyone think that Albon was allowed to push yesterday and risk breaking Max's spares?

You can even see it in their strategy gambles. Getting it wrong five times out of six doesn't matter if the sixth one gets you a win.

Sure, they'll win fewer points over the season but what's the lowest they are going to finish in the WCC? 3rd? Is that really any different to possibly 2nd? Which do you think they'd rather achieve, 2nd in the Championship with no wins? Or 3rd with 3-5 five wins that will show up in highlights for years and they can keep bigging up to sponsors and fans?

And, as long as they can't compete for the WCC, they are absolutely right to do so. This is a team sport, not a gladiatorial contest. It's paid for by advertisers who expect to see good PR and, just like the Tour de France, having a driver the entire team aligns behind makes a lot of sense.

Think about it this way, if you were Haas, how far down the WCC would you be willing to finish to have Grosjean on the top step of 2-3 races?

[TNTHead]

Why are people surprised? Think back to Webber and Vettel in...Silverstone (?) back in 2010. Red Bull have pretty much always had a number one driver and there's no reason to change it for the current era. These days, race wins are more important than net points for advertising so they will, quite logically, pick one driver, super-hype him and push the entire team into getting that driver wins. Did anyone really think that Gasly was on the same optimal strategies and using a car of equal performance as Max lapped him? Or that Ricciardo was solely at fault for Baku? Does anyone think that Albon was allowed to push yesterday and risk breaking Max's spares?

You can even see it in their strategy gambles. Getting it wrong five times out of six doesn't matter if the sixth one gets you a win.

Sure, they'll win fewer points over the season but what's the lowest they are going to finish in the WCC? 3rd? Is that really any different to possibly 2nd? Which do you think they'd rather achieve, 2nd in the Championship with no wins? Or 3rd with 3-5 five wins that will show up in highlights for years and they can keep bigging up to sponsors and fans?

And, as long as they can't compete for the WCC, they are absolutely right to do so. This is a team sport, not a gladiatorial contest. It's paid for by advertisers who expect to see good PR and, just like the Tour de France, having a driver the entire team aligns behind makes a lot of sense.

Think about it this way, if you were Haas, how far down the WCC would you be willing to finish to have Grosjean on the top step of 2-3 races?

Your reasoning makes perfectly sense, but it feels strange and a bit unjust when you break something and not bearing the consequences. This a clear sign of not having equal opportunities within the team, which is fine when everybody involved agrees to that hierarchy. On the other hand: think about it the mercs are black now to adresse the point of equal opportunities...

[Big Tea]

Look for a 'not bad for a number two driver' from Albon

To be fair to Red bull, they have to do what thy think is best for the team. The drivers are only relevant in that aspect, but I hope things like this are considered when looking at Albons results.


edit to this, then again, if Albon had not been as protective of the car he may have made up a chunk of the 2 tenths and be entitled to the vest wing for qualli

[Karim28]

Half a second, Now we just hope that the team have something with race pace and the strategy.
In following weeks, let's see what the team actually has for RB edition of DAS.
It could help much.

[Bill]

Disappointing Mclaren are two tenth behind and Renault didn't improve their power so basically they are level with Redbull.

[hasika]

So they are slower than last year......

[godlameroso]

Disappointing Mclaren are two tenth behind and Renault didn't improve their power so basically they are level with Redbull.

Verstappen barely went faster than last year, really no change. Incredible how a year of development yields identical lap times, on identical tires in cars that have the same regulations. What happened? How did they stand still, all the changes and developments did nothing! Crazy.

[godlameroso]

So they are slower than last year......

1:03.439(2019) vs 1:03.477(2020) there's something not right about this. A mistake in his fastest lap? Probably would have cost 2 tenths, but they'd still be behind Mercedes.

[P1McLarenMercedes]

So they are slower than last year......

1:03.439(2019) vs 1:03.477(2020) there's something not right about this. A mistake in his fastest lap? Probably would have cost 2 tenths, but they'd still be behind Mercedes.

Yeah but that's not bad considering last year's Mercedes is 6 tenths slower than it was last year.

[gandharva]

Disappointing Mclaren are two tenth behind and Renault didn't improve their power so basically they are level with Redbull.

Verstappen barely went faster than last year, really no change. Incredible how a year of development yields identical lap times, on identical tires in cars that have the same regulations. What happened? How did they stand still, all the changes and developments did nothing! Crazy.

Honda.

FIA engine restrictions prolly also caught them out. Not as much as Ferrari, but...

[Bill]

Does the Honda pu still spit fire like they did in testing