Max Verstappen beats Lewis Hamilton again in F1 Styrian Grand Prix – leaving world champ desperate for Merc speed boost
LEWIS HAMILTON received a sledgehammer blow to his F1 title hopes after watching Max Verstappen storm to victory in Austria.
The Dutchman’s win in the Styrian GP was not only emphatic, but it was a breeze for the Red Bull man, who opened up an 18 point lead in the championship.
But that was not even the worst of it for Hamilton, who is on his longest winless streak in a season since 2016, when Nico Rosberg beat him to the title.
Hamilton, who is chasing a record eighth world crown, was delivered the bombshell that Mercedes would NOT be developing his car for the rest of the season.
The devastating news came from Merc boss Toto Wolff, who said the Brackley-based team were now concentrating all their efforts on next year’s car, when there will be a whole set of new regulations coming in.
Wolff said: “What is tough is this is the first race in eight years where we are lacking pace.
“We have stopped developing this year because we believe in the next few years, so it is important to get it right and they [Red Bull] are still adding bits.
“We have to do the best we can and this is far from over. We are fired up and we have to do the best we can.
“We will be back fighting but today we did not have the tools to win and Max always had the ability to add one more.
“It is very tough because of the strategic situation.”
Mercedes have decided to switch their full attention to 2022 where F1 will see it’s biggest-ever rule change.
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We need to find performance. We need an upgrade of some sort.
Lewis Hamilton
The rulebook has been overhauled and the cars will look much-different to this season, not to mention bigger wheels and the introduction of biofuels.
That will stretch the team’s budget cap of £100million, so Mercedes are deploying their resources accordingly in the hope of starting F1’s new beginning with a bang.
It was a similar situation in 2013 when Merc pulled the plug on their development early to focus on the introduction of the hybrid engines; the era they have dominated.
However, for Hamilton he is desperate for new parts to be bolted on to his car to make it go faster and will urge Wolff to reconsider his plans to abort development.
Hamilton added: “We need to find performance. We need an upgrade of some sort.
“We have not brought any upgrades. I don’t remember the last time we had any upgrades, but Red Bull have.
“They have clearly brought an engine upgrade and some other part of the package and it has eked them ahead and there is not too much we can do.
“I guess ultimately, maybe they have spent more money than us this year? Maybe we have put more money on next year, I don’t know?
“I am not the one who deals with the money I am just driving the car to the maximum but we need to try and find some more performance.
“I have an intelligent and amazing group of people behind me who take those decisions, who balance it out with the cost cap.
“We would love to have upgrades and improvements but I don’t think that is on the cards, but when we do our debrief, we will talk about it.
“I am not going to question the team’s logic or process. I would love an update. Give us an upgrade, but I don’t think it is in the pipeline at the moment.
“We are down on a few areas. It was close at the beginning of the season but they have taken a decent step forwards.
“We did a decent job but it is going to get harder, especially if Sergio Perez has a better weekend.”
Meanwhile, Verstappen has now recorded back to back wins for the first time in his career and celebrated with a wheelspin on the finishing line.
He said: “It’s looking really good, we just have to keep on going. I’m confident we can do another good job again next week.
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“We improve our car at every race, which is important because we have a good chance this season and at the moment I don’t see that compromise [with 2022]. I guess time will tell next season.”
Red Bull boss, Christian Horner added: “It was an immaculate performance from Max, who managed the race so well.
“That was the most dominant win we have had over Mercedes this year, which is encouraging.
“He controlled the race, it was a masterclass. We have to keep the momentum going.”