Nervous eyes will be on Red Bull this weekend, after Sebastian Vettel stunned his rivals with the RB8's pace last time out at Valencia. Team boss Christian Horner had described the car's improvements as "small", but Vettel was suddenly a second per lap faster than any rival on the Spanish street circuit, recalling his utter dominance of the 2011 season.
"It was very impressive and so all the teams will be looking closely at what they do at Silverstone," Mercedes' Ross Brawn is quoted by Auto Motor und Sport.
Horner, however, is keeping expectations down. "So many cars have looked fast at different events," he told the Mirror. "For sure we made a step forward at Valencia, but the circuit challenge of Silverstone is totally different. It has high speed corners and quick changes of direction and, probably, a lot cooler temperatures with the likelihood of rain as well."
Sam Michael, key rival McLaren's sporting director, agrees with Horner that it is too soon to predict more Red Bull dominance from now on. "It's clear Red Bull have taken a step forward, although I don't think it's as big as the pace that Sebastian Vettel showed (at Valencia)," he told reporters during a team sponsor teleconference on Wednesday.
Australian Michael said he thinks Red Bull's Valencia dominance was less to do with the car updates, and more to do with simply getting the finicky tyres to work perfectly. "A second a lap is quite a lot when you've changed fairly secondary parts on the top surface of the floor," he said. "I'd be pretty surprised if they maintained a second a lap gap to the rest of the field." (GMM)
Red Bull dominance in doubt for Silverstone
- Published on 05 Jul 2012 12:49
-
0
- By: Rob Veenstra
.
Trending news
-
Nico Rosberg issues stark warning to former team MercedesNico Rosberg has warned Mercedes that McLaren has become Formula 1's team to beat, delivering a stark assessment ...
28 Aug 2026 14:50 -
Why Alonso credited himself after Zandvoort chargeFernando Alonso delivered a blunt self-assessment after driving from 18th on the grid to ninth at the Dutch Grand Pri...
28 Aug 2026 13:48 -
Why Max Verstappen's 2030 Red Bull contract might not be finalMax Verstappen's new Red Bull contract through 2030 may not be the career-defining commitment it appears, accordi...
28 Aug 2026 12:47 -
Only seven F1 seats remain unfilled for 2027The 2027 Formula 1 grid is rapidly solidifying. Following Max Verstappen's contract extension at Red Bull and rec...
28 Aug 2026 11:45 -
Why F1 boss Domenicali called Verstappen's Red Bull extension the 'icing on the cake'Stefano Domenicali has expressed visible relief after Max Verstappen committed his future to Red Bull through 2030, t...
28 Aug 2026 10:43
Dutch Grand Prix
Local time
-
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Dutch Grand Prix
Local time
-
Friday
-
Saturday
-
Sunday
-
Friday
-
Saturday
-
Sunday
Test calendar
Circuit de Catalunya - Winter testing
-
Jan 26
I. Hadjar
- 1:18.159
-
-
-
Jan 27
M. Verstappen
- 1:19.578
-
-
-
Jan 28
A. Antonelli
- 1:17.362
-
-
-
Jan 29
G. Russell
- 1:16.445
-
-
-
Jan 30
L. Hamilton
- 1:16.348
-
-
Bahrain International Circuit - Winter testing
-
Feb 11
L. Norris
- 1:34.669
-
-
-
Feb 12
C. Leclerc
- 1:34.273
-
-
-
Feb 13
A. Antonelli
- 1:33.669
-
-
Bahrain International Circuit - Winter testing
-
Feb 18
G. Russell
- 1:33.459
-
-
Feb 19
A. Antonelli
- 1:32.803
-
-
Feb 20
C. Leclerc
- 1:31.992
-
-
World Championship standings 2026
Pos
Driver
Team
Points
Pos
Team
Points
Related news
Give your opinion!
Formula 1 Calendar - 2026
Date
Grand Prix
Circuit
-
Spain
-
Bahrain
-
Bahrain
Formula 1 Calendar - 2026
Date
Grand Prix & Circuit
-
Spain
Circuit de Catalunya
-
Bahrain
Bahrain International Circuit
-
Bahrain
Bahrain International Circuit
6 - Mar 8
Australia
Albert Park
13 - Mar 15
27 - Mar 29
Japan
Circuit Suzuka
10 - Apr 12
Bahrain
Bahrain International Circuit
17 - Apr 19
Saudi Arabia
Jeddah Street Circuit
1 - May 3
United States of America
Miami International Autodrome
22 - May 24
Canada
Gilles Villeneuve
5 - Jun 7
Monaco
Monte Carlo
12 - Jun 14
Spain
Circuit de Catalunya
26 - Jun 28
Austria
Red Bull Ring
3 - Jul 5
United Kingdom
Silverstone
17 - Jul 19
Belgium
Spa-Francorchamps
24 - Jul 26
Hungary
Hungaroring
21 - Aug 23
Netherlands
Circuit Zandvoort
Driver profile
- Team Aston Martin
- Points 1,480
- Podiums 56
- Grand Prix 161
- Country Germany
- Date of b. Jul 3 1987 (39)
- Place of b. Heppenheim, Germany
- Weight 62 kg
- Length 1.75 m
- 281,401 comments on Aston Martin
57 members have this team as their favourite
Tweets about Sebastian Vettel
Team profile
- Team name McLaren
- Base Woking, United Kingdom
- Jenson Button 1
- Lewis Hamilton 1
- Fernando Alonso 1
- Niki Lauda 1
- Stoffel Vandoorne 2
- Lewis Hamilton 2
- Lewis Hamilton 2
- Gerhard Berger 2
- Daniel Ricciardo 3
- Jenson Button 3
- Lewis Hamilton 3
- Kimi Räikkönen 3
- Mika Häkkinen 3
- Lando Norris 4
- Lewis Hamilton 4
- Jenson Button 4
- Kimi Räikkönen 4
- Jenson Button 5
- Sergio Perez 6
- Kimi Räikkönen 6
- Kimi Räikkönen 6
- Niki Lauda 8
- Alain Prost 8
- Kimi Räikkönen 9
- Fernando Alonso 14
- Kevin Magnussen 20
- Jenson Button 22
- Lewis Hamilton 22
- Gerhard Berger 28
- Stoffel Vandoorne 47
- Carlos Sainz jr 55
- Oscar Piastri 81
- 306,982 comments on McLaren
- 162 members have this team as their favourite
- Tweets about McLaren
Replies (0)
Login to reply