Sky Sports analyst Bernie Collins does not expect Max Verstappen to have a dominant weekend in China. The British thinks that the characteristics of the Shanghai International Circuit play into the hands of Ferrari’s car and therefore the gap between the Italian team and Red Bull Racing could be considerably smaller.
For the first time since 2019, China is organizing a Grand Prix in the premier class of motorsport. During the last edition, Lewis Hamilton took his 75th victory in Shanghai and Verstappen only had five victories to his name. A lot has changed since then. In the meantime, the regulations have been overhauled and the relationships between the teams have changed enormously. The F1 teams therefore have no relevant data and so the first and only free practice on Friday morning is very important for finding the right setup.
Verstappen is nevertheless the favorite for victory for many in China. Collins, however, isn’t so sure. “I think this circuit fits Ferrari’s strengths,” the analyst begins in the Sky Sports podcast. “I think there is a chance that Ferrari has closed the gap to Red Bull a bit and that they may have distanced themselves a little more from McLaren. I must admit that I find it difficult to substantiate this line of thought with data.’
Aston stronger than Mercedes
Behind Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren, according to Collins, the battle will again be between Aston Martin and Mercedes. However, the British expects that the team of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll will have an advantage and she explains why. “We know they said before the season that they’ve been working on their DRS system, so they’ve made sure they have a really strong DRS. That should help them because we have two very long straights. So they may have an advantage over Mercedes. But it will definitely be very interesting,” Collins said.
