Schiff shares MAIN reason why Red Bull are dominant in F1
Schiff shares MAIN reason why Red Bull are dominant in F1
Sheona Mountford
Sky F1 pundit Naomi Schiff has shared why she believes Red Bull are so dominant currently.
While qualifying times are close on track, with Charles Leclerc occupying the front row alongside Max Verstappen at each of the first two grands prix, no one can quite challenge Red Bull in race trim yet.
The title race may already be over, with Verstappen achieving two flawless wins in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
The Dutchman was particularly strong in Bahrain, clearing his teammate Sergio Perez, who finished in second, by 22 seconds.
Schiff remains hopeful despite dominance
“One of the biggest factors for them and what’s really helping them with their performance here [Bahrain] is the lack of tyre degradation they have,” Schiff said on the Sky Sports F1 Podcast.
“It does make the difference, you know we saw the gap in Qualifying being smaller than it was last year, so that is something to be optimistic about.
“But, clearly in the race there just was no competition for them and that just comes down to multiple factors, whether it’s the camber that they’re running, the toe that they’re running, the amount of heat that they’re managing to keep in the wheel and in the hub but also evacuating enough heat so that the tyres aren’t overheating."
“All of those small things come together and they’ve really had to strike the balance. It’s only race one, this track is very high in tyre degradation, it’s very abrasive. So, I think that that will actually get smaller and that’s something to look forwards to.
“Last year, we saw – take a look at Singapore, not a lot of grip on the track, quite bumpy, I think as we go forwards of the season to tracks that have less tyre degradation, the gap will inevitably be smaller, so that’s a silver lining here.”