Formula 1 Dutch GP

Red Bull was willing to sacrifice Dutch GP win to cover Hamilton

Red Bull was prepared for Max Verstappen to sacrifice victory to Valtteri Bottas in Formula 1’s Dutch Grand Prix if it guaranteed finishing ahead of Lewis Hamilton.

Jonathan Noble

Edited: Sep 8, 2021, 6:41 AM

Copy link

Share on Viber

Add as a preferred source

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB16B, Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W12

Mercedes employed a strategy split between its two drivers at Zandvoort on Sunday in a bid to try to overhaul Verstappen’s Red Bull at the front of the field.

Hamilton was put on to an aggressive two-stop strategy while Bottas tried to make a one-stop work.

The hope from Mercedes was that by diverging the strategy of its two drivers, it would leave Red Bull in a tricky situation is having to choose which one to cover.

In the middle phase of the race, as Bottas headed the field, there was a period where it looked like the Finn would be in with a shot at gunning for the victory.

But the Finn’s hopes were dashed when Verstappen was swiftly able to pass him, which meant there was no chance of the one-stop working.

Verstappen’s emotional home win was then sealed when Mercedes went early with a second stop for Hamilton in a bid to try to get the undercut, but it hopes were scuppered when the world champion emerged in to traffic on his out lap.

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has revealed that what Bottas chose to do in the race was never on his team’s radar though.

For with a super close title battle between Verstappen and Hamilton, the most critical thing for his team was that it finished ahead of the lead Mercedes car.

And he says that even if there had been a risk of Red Bull losing the race win to cover Hamilton, it would have accepted it for the bigger title picture.

“Our focus was on Lewis,” he said. “He's the closest competitor, so he was the one we had to choose between the two, even if there was a risk of conceding the race.

“It was important to score those points against Lewis.”

Read Also:

Horner said the critical moment of the race, which swung things towards Verstappen, was when the Dutchman wasted no time in finding a way past Bottas.

Had he got trapped behind the Finn, then that would have opened up the risk of either the one-stop coming into play properly, or of Hamilton behind seizing the opportunity to go for an undercut to gain track position.

“We expected them [Mercedes] to split this strategy, which they did,” he explained. “They had two cars in play, so going aggressive with Lewis, and long with Valtteri.

“Because the two stop was the faster race, the crucial part of it was to make sure that we repassed Valtteri immediately. And Max did that.

“That then opened up opportunities to make the second half of the race much more manageable. If he had spent a lot of laps behind Valtteri, that could have exposed us to the undercut.”

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

Take our 5 minute survey.

- The Motorsport.com Team

Read and post comments

Share Or Save This Story

Copy link

Share on Viber

Previous article Haas: No one side to blame in latest Mazepin-Schumacher clash

Next article Alonso: ‘Pure luck’ unseen Turn 3 lock up didn’t result in crash

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

View More & Comment

Latest news

Retaining Liam Lawson isn't enough – Red Bull must stop treating him like a failure

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1 1 h

Retaining Liam Lawson isn't enough – Red Bull must stop treating him like a failure

Yamaha may not be competitive immediately in MotoGP's 850cc era, says Pramac

MotoGP

MGP MotoGP

Qatar GP

5 h

Yamaha may not be competitive immediately in MotoGP's 850cc era, says Pramac

With rallying back in the spotlight, it could probably teach F1 a thing or two

Formula 1

With rallying back in the spotlight, it could probably teach F1 a thing or two

You Ask The Questions: Jack Miller

MotoGP

Qatar GP

You Ask The Questions: Jack Miller

Feature

Discover prime content

With rallying back in the spotlight, it could probably teach F1 a thing or two

Formula 1

By Maurice Hamilton

With rallying back in the spotlight, it could probably teach F1 a thing or two

How seizing every chance – and making it happen – keeps Pierre Gasly’s fire burning

Formula 1

By Jake Boxall-Legge

How seizing every chance – and making it happen – keeps Pierre Gasly’s fire burning

Tough love and F1 titles – A key life lesson behind Wolff's Mercedes success

Formula 1

Sao Paulo GP

By Ronald Vording

Tough love and F1 titles – A key life lesson behind Wolff's Mercedes success

How Brazil showcased everything that's good about F1 - plus some that isn't

Formula 1

Sao Paulo GP

By Filip Cleeren

How Brazil showcased everything that's good about F1 - plus some that isn't

Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.

From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.

You have 2 options:

Become a subscriber.
Disable your adblocker.

Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here

Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page

Manage Alerts