Former F1 strategist Bernie Collins has outlined a key area of consistency for Red Bull which is giving them the edge in the battle with McLaren.
Lando Norris came close for a second race in a row to triumphing over Max Verstappen, after the McLaren driver chased him for the win in the closing stages of the race.
The team allowed him to go longer in his first stint on a set of soft tyres after falling behind Verstappen and George Russell at the start from pole. He later got held up by Russell in his next stint, which cost him crucial time to Verstappen, before a slower final pit stop was around six-tenths slower.
Norris finished the race just 2.2 seconds behind Verstappen at the finish line, one of the closest win margins of the season. Collins, who used to work for McLaren as a strategist, outlined a key area which is costing them in these close battles for victory when speaking on Sky Sports.
Bernie Collins outlines important consistency areas for Red Bull
Pit stops form a crucial part of races as they can be where critical time is gained or lost. In the case of Canada, Norris lost the race because his rivals spent less time in the pit stop process due to the safety car.
During normal conditions, teams can make the difference between getting drivers out into traffic or winning them time at the end of a race. Collins believes this is an area Red Bull has locked down since the start of the season which is giving them an advantage in the battle with McLaren.
“The pit stops are really interesting because last year we saw the fastest pit stop ever at 1.8 seconds, but since that point, Red Bull has been working on consistency rather than out and out fastest. So time and time again, we see slightly quicker or slower stops, but in a very small bracket,” said Collins.
“Whereas previously McLaren have got that fast one but sometimes that slower one, and at this level with multi-stop races, you can’t have that variability.”
Red Bull lead pit stop challenge
Every year pit stop times are measured by Formula 1 and currently Red Bull leads over Ferrari and Mercedes, according to DHL.
McLaren sits in fourth place having had fewer pit stops in the top ten during races, while Sauber, Haas and Williams are among the slowest on the grid.
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Seven out of the top 10 pit stops during the season belong to Red Bull, with the quickest being 1.9 seconds during the Chinese Grand Prix for Verstappen.
Red Bull repeated this at the Spanish GP with Verstappen, which enabled him to stretch the gap out to Norris during that crucial middle stint. By contrast, McLaren only managed a 3.6-second stop for Norris which was six-tenths slower than what they produced with Piastri earlier in the race.
McLaren was third quickest in 2023 out of all the teams while Red Bull was on top, but it was McLaren that produced the fastest stop of the season at the Qatar GP at 1.8 seconds.
The post ‘Can’t have that’: Bernie Collins outlines Red Bull ‘consistency’ giving them the edge in battle with McLaren appeared first on F1 Oversteer.