Toto Wolff thinks Red Bull won the battle, but the war will side with Mercedes, as the Milton-Keynes-based team will start the race on softs.
Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton are vying to find that difference to claim the 2021 F1 championship title. This thinking stems from the thought that the Dutchman would start the race with soft tyres.
Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton will be starting on the medium compound tyres. The Q3 timing gave Verstappen the pole position for Saturday. Reacting to the overall scenario, Toto Wolff thinks Red Bull won the battle, Mercedes will win the war.
“It’s 1-0 for them. They got the tyres in a perfect window in the last run. The tow functioned flawlessly and that’s why they’re on pole,” said Wolff to SkySports.
“I would much rather start on the medium. We will have a slight disadvantage on the start I guess. We can go longer, we can go for an aggressive undercut also and try to control track position.”
Lewis Hamilton wished Mercedes to be quicker
With Red Bull levelling against Red Bull in Q3 at all areas, or it can be said that they were faster, the pole is a promising result for Red Bull. The Yas Marin circuit, though the first race is yet to be done after the modification, is considered a track with low overtaking probability.
Hamilton realizes that and claims Red Bull had a great day on the track. Moreover, he wished that maybe his team was a bit better than their rivals.
“The car was good. Max did a great job on that final lap. The last lap was okay, definitely can’t complain, but of course we wish we’d be a bit quicker today,” Hamilton stated.
Now, only suspense remains until the lights go out on Sunday as we enter the showdown.
