Tear Down Fort Mercedes In Abu Dhabi, Red Bull Optimistic To Face 2021
JAKARTA - Max Verstappen tore down the fortress of Mercedes at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with a victory in the season's closing race, and his team, Red Bull, are looking to win a bigger prize than their rivals next year.
The 23-year-old racer from Holland converted his pole position to a dominant appearance after finishing 16 seconds in front of the duo of Mercedes Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton at the Yas Marina Circuit on Sunday.
And your final # F1DriverOfTheDay of 2020 is ... 🎺 @ Max33Verstappen 🎺 # AbuDhabiGP 🇦🇪 # F1 pic.twitter.com/Djz3OvOla0
- Formula 1 (@ F1) December 13, 2020
The victory ended Mercedes' dominance and started 1-2 in Abu Dhabi in the previous six seasons.
Red Bull itself tasted the top podium in Abu Dhabi in 2009, 2010 and 2013 thanks to Sebastian Vettel's brilliant performances.
"You see every pole, every race winner from the previous six years is always a Mercedes," said Red Bull team boss Christian Horner as quoted by Antara from Reuters, Monday, December 14.
"So breaking down that hurdle here with them finishing behind us in second and third place is a great result for us at the venue where they are their strongest performer."
Red Bull, who have started the season with a car their riders find difficult, have been given a boost through their performance in Abu Dhabi.
Honda, which supplies the power unit for them, is the only manufacturer apart from Mercedes that has won this season.
With a fairly stable regulation next year, with a few changes in aerodynamics, Red Bull hopes that next year they can be stronger against Mercedes, which this year won 13 of the 17 races that have been held.
Aiming to begin 2021 as they end 2020 💪 # AbuDhabiGP 🇦🇪 # F1https: //t.co/UEalUicm2V
- Formula 1 (@ F1) December 13, 2020
Red Bull are noted to often close their distance from their main rivals at the end of the season before falling back into their form at the start of the new season.
"We need a car that is capable of all the various circuits in which Mercedes is very good at performing," said Horner of next season.
"I think, especially on a circuit like this, getting a performance like that in winter will be very encouraging," he concluded.