Mercedes implemented an ambitious one-stop strategy by equipping Lewis Hamilton and George Russell with the tough at the end of their first stint, putting them in contention for victory.
Red Bull engaged in a two-stop strategy with Verstappen, who was due to exit the pits behind the two Mercedes cars after making his final pit stop.
But a VSC called following Yuki Tsunoda’s lap 44 pit stop gave Verstappen the chance to stop and maintain his track position ahead of Hamilton and Russell, prompting Mercedes to bring their drivers back.
Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff revealed after the race that the team’s predictions suggested victory was possible without the VSC, due to the gap to Verstappen and the need to overtake two cars, as well as reduced hard tire degradation.
“The simulation says Max would have come out eight seconds behind us with 20 laps to go,” explained Wolff.
“He probably would have gone hard then and I think we would have had a good chance of winning.
“The race planner said victory was on the way. Tight, but on the way.”
When asked when Verstappen would have caught up, Wolff replied: “I would have said about six laps from the end. It was very close.”
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB18
Photo by: Erik Junius
While Mercedes believed VSC had denied them a chance of victory, Red Bull claimed they were actually the biggest loser from Tsunoda’s stoppage as he sabotaged his strategic plans.
The team intended to keep Verstappen long enough for him to take soft tires for the final stint after the Dutchman stressed he didn’t want to use the hard ones.
“Max was preserving the tyres, so he wasn’t killing the tires and the tires that came off his car were still in pretty good shape,” explained Red Bull team principal Christian Horner.
“It gave us the confidence to go back to soft tyres. But the virtual safety car couldn’t really have come at a worse time. That’s when we had to convert.”
Verstappen said the VSC’s timing was “a bit unfortunate” and “clearly lacked a bit of rhythm” on the hard tire compared to the two Mercedes, which went to medium.
“I think the gap was still big enough to manage it until the end,” Verstappen said.
“But they certainly would have gotten much closer than I think to the 11.5 seconds he was at the time.”
