F1
Laurence Edmondson, F1 Editor 6y

Max Verstappen blames 80bhp deficit for gap to pole

Formula 1

SILVERSTONE, U.K. -- Max Verstappen says Red Bull was losing over a second per lap in qualifying at the British Grand Prix due to a 80bhp power deficit to rivals Mercedes and Ferrari.

Verstappen qualified fifth on Sunday's grid and was 0.710s off the pole position time set by Lewis Hamilton. He pinned the blame for the size of the gap firmly on Renault's engine, which is known to be down on horsepower compared to Mercedes and Ferrari.

"If you miss 80bhp you know you're going to struggle," he said. "Also now with the cars we have [since the 2017 regulation changes], a few more corners became flat out so it just gets more and more difficult. If you lose more than a second on the straight then you know it's going to be a difficult weekend, but actually I was quite happy with how the car was performing in qualifying so actually I don't have anything to complain about."

Asked in which corners the lack of power was having the biggest impact, he said: "Turn 1, for example, and Copse, and the big problem as well is when you go through a corner which is almost flat, then when you accelerate out of the corner our engine is just not pulling, and their engine then recovers.

"Yeah, then you know you don't have the horsepower, especially the corners which are flat you start scrubbing speed with the steering, and you lose even more because after the corner it's getting even bigger.

"When you go through Maggotts and Becketts in that area, and the problem is that you brake a little bit and you go back to flat out in Stowe, out of that corner because you go really early on the throttle you have a bit of a steering lock and you just lose a lot."

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