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Showing posts from May, 2021

Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes' strategy outsmart RedBuIl

 After taking his 100th pole on Saturday, Lewis Hamilton started the race with Red Bull's Max Verstappen next to him. Starting on the back foot, Hamilton lost the race lead on Lap 1. Verstappen led the majority of the race, keeping his Mercedes rival outside DRS range. Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is known for being a hard track to overtake on. By taking the lead in turn 1 Max Verstappen and RedBull had the upper hand. Pitting on lap 24/66, Verstappen committed to a one-stop strategy. In a smart and strategic move, Mercedes and Hamilton switched to a two-stop strategy. In a very Ferrari-esq fashion, a confused RedBull didn't cover Mercedes' pitstop. This effectively gifted Mercedes and Hamilton with the win.  On fresher tyres, the 7-time world champion had a huge task ahead of him. To reclaim the lead he had to close a 22-second gap in roughly 24 laps. Losing some time to his teammate Valtteri Bottas, Hamilton soon caught up to Verstappen. The silver arrow swooped past