“[Lewis] Hamilton wasn’t running at the quali with the fresh engine”– New revelation keeps Red Bull in deep waters against Mercedes ahead of race in Qatar

F1 journalist reveals Lewis Hamilton wasn’t even running his Mercedes on the older engines which he took in Brazil to defeat Max Verstappen.

Lewis Hamilton undoubtedly looked superior to Max Verstappen during the qualifying in Qatar. The thought would strictly go to the massive speed difference the Briton had over his rival in Brazil due to the new engine.

However, recent revelations by an F1 journalist claim that Hamilton was running on his older engine at Losail. Therefore, pointing out the difference the two drivers have even without the new engine.

Hamilton no ha usado en la quali el motor nuevo de Interlagos.

Hamilton wasn’t running at the quali the fresh engine from Interlagos.

— Albert Fabrega (@AlbertFabrega) November 20, 2021

And would it mean another defeat for Verstappen? As the Briton would surely use his new engine. His latest engine hasn’t been used since Interlagos. He ran on his previous engine on Friday, too, as in between he talked about losing power.

As of now, Red Bull also suspects wrongdoing in the rear-wings and have urged the FIA to inspect Mercedes’ car. Meanwhile, Mercedes can only fancy a win in Qatar.

Also read: Mercedes boss reveals that the entire Brazil DSQ debacle for Hamilton was caused by two loose screws

Max Verstappen can’t stand against Mercedes alone

If things couldn’t go any worse for Red Bull, Sergio Perez finished at P11 in qualifying. That keeps Verstappen alone in the front two rows amidst two W12s.

Jeez Perez out in Q2 is going to make Max’s race tomorrow REAL hard

— Matt Gallagher (@MattyWTF1) November 20, 2021

Surely, Red Bull’s race would be tougher than the qualifying as things stand. A win for Hamilton would only bring him much closer to Verstappen in the standings ahead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

In Jeddah, the pole in qualifying would yet again prove critical to the race. So, in conclusion, Verstappen has only a few things to rely on against Hamilton, and for how long it would make him sustain much quicker Mercedes on the straights can only be seen on Sunday.

Also read: Jos Verstappen thinks Mercedes should be investigated by the FIA for their ‘tremendous straight line speed’

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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