I think it's mostly a matter of setups and such Bagwan. The Honda engines have been noted to be strong at altitude, and with the smaller rear wing and diffuser goodies they had some high top end speeds. Merc is running that bigger wing, and it might be a tire thing with them needing to work the tires more to get the heat in them. Either way, I wouldn't be surprised if they change some tactics.

I hadn't previously heard the comments about Lewis choosing a more radical setup, but that might be a result of playing catch up and rolling the dice hoping to get to the front.


But I think Merc are still in the game. Had Lewis just finished Baku in second place he would be tied with Max for WDC points. Considering the mess both Mercs had in Monaco, it was just a lost opportunity when Max had the tire take him out. And to me Baku was a good example of the speeds between the two cars as well. Merc went for less downforce, and RB for more. Though it proved that more was better in sheer lap time, RB couldn't even come close on the straights. They had to make the time in the pits and laps away from the traffic.