Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes 'off-balance' due to Max Verstappen and Red Bull
Former F1 driver Damon Hill believes Mercedes have been knocked “off-balance” in their quest to become eight-time world champions, with Max Verstappen and Red Bull turning up the wick in the title battle.
Red Bull have been piling on the pressure all season, starting way back in Bahrain testing where Verstappen wiped the floor with his timings across the three days.
Arguably it’s the first time Mercedes have really felt the heat from a rival team since 2018, as Sebastian Vettel took the fight to Lewis Hamilton with Ferrari.
Since Monaco however, there has been a huge swing in the championship, with the Dutchman taking control of the standings thanks to a tough weekend for Mercedes.
Baku also lent itself nicely to Red Bull, and despite Verstappen suffering a tyre blowout, the team still walked away leading both the driver and the team standings with no points scored by their main rivals.
Hamilton and Mercedes looked to bounce back in France, and despite a vast improvement from the previous two races, a clever strategy call from Red Bull saw Verstappen extend his lead at the top of the standings to 12 points heading into two rounds at Austria.
