Subscribe

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB16B
Autosport Plus
Special feature

The "subtle" Red Bull upgrades that kept it in the Portugal F1 mix

Red Bull's Portuguese Grand Prix fortunes were decidedly second best to Mercedes', but the result skews the potential that the team had at Portimao. With a new set of updates, the team looks good going forward into the rest of 2021's spicy F1 competition

The final Portuguese Grand Prix race result, on paper, doesn’t entirely reflect kindly on Red Bull. Max Verstappen’s late stop to gun for the fastest lap, which proved futile after once again failing to dance with the track limits devil, left him some way behind winner Lewis Hamilton.

In that, it was a weekend of near-misses at Red Bull. Verstappen could have got pole, had he not exceeded track limits on his quickest qualifying time. He could have taken fastest lap, had he not overcooked it on the exit of Turn 14. Feeling that losing the time to track limits was “odd, as they weren’t monitoring [Turn] 14” - despite an FIA directive adding it to the corners under scrutiny – Verstappen also didn’t seem to be abundantly happy with finishing second.

Previous article Russell: ‘Race of survival’ hardest for Williams since 2019
Next article 10 things we learned from F1's 2021 Portuguese GP

More from Jake Boxall-Legge

Was Magnussen's role as Hulkenberg's helper in Saudi Arabian GP unsportsmanlike?

Was Magnussen's role as Hulkenberg's helper in Saudi Arabian GP unsportsmanlike?

Plus
Plus
F1 Formula 1
Saudi Arabian GP
Was Magnussen's role as Hulkenberg's helper in Saudi Arabian GP unsportsmanlike? Was Magnussen's role as Hulkenberg's helper in Saudi Arabian GP unsportsmanlike?
10 things we learned at the 2024 Saudi Arabian GP

10 things we learned at the 2024 Saudi Arabian GP

F1 Formula 1
Saudi Arabian GP
10 things we learned at the 2024 Saudi Arabian GP 10 things we learned at the 2024 Saudi Arabian GP
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2024

Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2024

Plus
Plus
F1 Formula 1
Saudi Arabian GP
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2024
How F1's mad tea-party driver market could look if Verstappen moves to Mercedes

How F1's mad tea-party driver market could look if Verstappen moves to Mercedes

Plus
Plus
F1 Formula 1
Bahrain GP
How F1's mad tea-party driver market could look if Verstappen moves to Mercedes How F1's mad tea-party driver market could look if Verstappen moves to Mercedes
The laps that underpinned Verstappen’s crushing Bahrain GP victory

The laps that underpinned Verstappen’s crushing Bahrain GP victory

Plus
Plus
F1 Formula 1
Bahrain GP
The laps that underpinned Verstappen’s crushing Bahrain GP victory The laps that underpinned Verstappen’s crushing Bahrain GP victory
Verstappen: Red Bull continuous gains key to beating Ferrari to Bahrain F1 pole

Verstappen: Red Bull continuous gains key to beating Ferrari to Bahrain F1 pole

F1 Formula 1
Bahrain GP
Verstappen: Red Bull continuous gains key to beating Ferrari to Bahrain F1 pole Verstappen: Red Bull continuous gains key to beating Ferrari to Bahrain F1 pole
F1 Bahrain GP: Verstappen beats Leclerc to first pole of 2024

F1 Bahrain GP: Verstappen beats Leclerc to first pole of 2024

F1 Formula 1
Bahrain GP
F1 Bahrain GP: Verstappen beats Leclerc to first pole of 2024 F1 Bahrain GP: Verstappen beats Leclerc to first pole of 2024
F1 Bahrain GP: Sainz beats Alonso, Verstappen to top FP3

F1 Bahrain GP: Sainz beats Alonso, Verstappen to top FP3

F1 Formula 1
Bahrain GP
F1 Bahrain GP: Sainz beats Alonso, Verstappen to top FP3 F1 Bahrain GP: Sainz beats Alonso, Verstappen to top FP3

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe