Red Bull in crisis and McLaren on the rise

As the internal struggle at Red Bull heats up, it's easy to overlook that the whole episode started with the big step forward made by McLaren in Turkey. The entire F1 paddock expected another race dominated by the Austrian team, but although Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel were first and second at Istanbul Park, it was the pressure exerted by the chasing Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button that pushed Vettel trying to overtake his teammate.

“We were faster than the Red Bulls,” Button said. “The leap in quality we have made is incredible. We have closed the gap and the others have fallen behind.”

However, some say it was the effect of the F-duct on the big straights at Istanbul Park, rather than the upgrades made to the MP4-24, that made the McLarens take off.

Red Bull tested the device during Friday free practice in Turkey, but decided not to use it in the race because it wants to better understand how the system works. In Canada, the energy drink team will try F-duct again on Friday.

Red Bull team manager Christian Horner is trying to resolve the team's internal crisis and for the next races the manager expects more tough battles against the McLarens.

Joan Villadelprat wrote in his column for the Spanish newspaper El Pais: “The Mercedes engine, the most powerful on the grid, is another element that works in McLaren's favour.”

Ferrari's third driver Marc Gene wrote in the newspaper El Mundo: “We must applaud the British team. They had a great match and the double was no coincidence.

“Their improvement was remarkable and their leap forward surprised everyone.”

Andre' Cotta