'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAHAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFgABAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMI/8QAFAEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP/aAAwDAQACEAMQAAAAz1IP/8QAHxAAAQIGAwAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAgEDABESEyExIlFx/9oACAEBAAE/AAMRZeQgVHGsAO6+/JJFivlZ3naR/8QAFhEBAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQIA/9oACAECAQE/AKpN/8QAFREBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQD/2gAIAQMBAT8AC//Z'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Red Bull tech chief Pierre Wache has rubbished allegations that the team is masking the true performance in qualifying and focussing entirely on race pace.
The Austrian team has been very dominant this season and has won all seven races. Having said that, while the gap in races has been close to 7 tenths of a second, the gap in qualifying has been around a couple of tenths.
When questioned during the press conference on Friday (June 16) by Tom Clarkson whether Red Bull was deliberately holding back in qualifying to mask the team's true performance, especially in the hands of Max Verstappen, Pierre Wache did not agree with that line of thought.
Talking about the gaps, Pierre said that the gap was predominantly due to rivals like Ferrari, Mercedes, and Aston Martin being unable to maintain the same level of performance on a tire over a stint length.
The Red Bull tech chief said,
"Not really. In qualifying, for sure we are pushing. During the race, as everybody we are saving or managing the tyres to increase the stint length and to give more choice on strategy, like everybody is doing. The success is also depending not on you but also on the others. And the difference is bigger than what we expected."
Red Bull's advantage is in race management
The Red Bull tech chief further revealed that the team's primary advantage was in race management where it was able to extract more out of a stint than other teams. This is something that was evident even in a race like Barcelona where Max Verstappen was able to run the race on softer tires in the first stint compared to Lewis Hamilton and George Russell behind him. Pierre said,
"You see that in qualifying for sure they were every time closer in terms of pure performance. In terms of management of pace during the race, we have some advantage. But I'm sure they can unlock [more performance]. And you see some updates coming from our competitors here. For sure it will be closer."
Red Bull have won as many as seven races already this season and one of the reasons why the team has been able to do this consistently is because of the overall consistency from the team and the drivers. Every aspect of the team is working perfectly in unison and does not have any weaknesses compared to its rivals.
