Max Verstappen's elimination in Q1 of the Brazilian GP, after causing such a stir on Saturday, then ended up in the background thanks to the masterful performance of the driver who climbed from the pit lane to the third step of the podium. It should also be said that Antonelli was good at resisting attacks, otherwise he could very well have finished second.
Between Saturday evening and Sunday morning we racked our brains over what might have caused the Verstappen bust. We thought about the configurations, the height of the bottom, but we hadn't considered a hypothesis, which at the moment, for obvious reasons, is impossible for us to confirm (only the team could do it), but which suddenly appeared in our heads only yesterday, while we were dealing with the article on the rotation of power units and the fact that Max, at the moment, finds himself the favorite to win the last three races.
A light bulb went off, like a wooden mouse discovering a hole in a piece of wood and starting to eat it until it gets bigger and bigger: what if Red Bull had shown up in Q1 knowing it would start the Dutchman from the pit lane and replace his power unit?
We ask you to take everything as a game. This is a hypothesis without any trace of certain evidence. A hypothesis born from our mere imagination. A fanciful hypothesis, but one that could explain many of the oddities we witnessed during qualifying and consequently also in the race.
First oddity: elimination in Q1
Verstappen starts the session with a very high time that puts him in the elimination zone. The Dutchman fitted new tyres, exiting the pits well ahead of the end of the session. However, it is unable to exploit this time due to some configuration issues (at least this is the official version of Red Bull). The Dutchman turns very slowly, at the limit of what is permitted by the current directives provided by the race director in this regard ‘delta time’. Verstappen is slow and can't improve. Once he gets out of the car Max can't even say what caused his elimination.
Second oddity: the exploit in the race
The team makes configuration changes, also modifies some components (perhaps including the lower part, with specifications different from those of the Sprint) and replaces all the parts that make up the power unit. This forces him to start from the pit lane, but Max demonstrates incredible pace from the first laps and climbs to the podium. We often say that in Formula 1 there is no magic wand, yet it seems that Red Bull found it in Brazil. Coincidences? It's hard to believe that the Milton Keynes engineers took a trim they knew, dressed the RB21 in it, and then relied on a miracle, which then, coincidentally, happened (the return wasn't made possible by the engine change alone; the trim was also suitable, in fact perfect).
What if it's all a planned plan?
Hence our hypothesis. We don't believe in coincidences, we're not allowed to do that. Luck exists, but you also need to know how to create it. According to this writer, Red Bull had already planned to replace all the powertrain components in Max's car after the Sprint. This is a practice he has often done over the years at the end of the season. This provides a pure performance advantage over opponents, especially if they persist in trying to finish the year by betting only on the units allowed by the rules without going to penalties. Furthermore, statistically, it also protects against reliability problems.
Replacing all elements of the power unit carries a penalty in terms of positions where not even two starting grids would be sufficient to satisfy them all, so it made no sense for Max to exceed the Q1 cut. But why the effort to design all that little theater? Verstappen, although far behind Norris in terms of points, is still fighting for the world championship and perhaps Red Bull may have engineered a bluff to avoid taking a look.
In doing so, he made everyone believe that he had difficulty understanding the car, when in reality it was absolutely not true and that he had managed to replace the engine without anyone even coming close to emulating him. Red Bull wanted to have an advantage over their opponents for the season finale and in doing so they got it. Furthermore, given the third place obtained, the damage was significantly limited.
Having scheduled a penalty in Brazil before qualifying would also make sense since it tends to be one of the best stages of serving an engine penalty. Verstappen finished third from the pit lane, but achieved an almost similar feat at Hamilton in 2021 (Lewis didn't start from the pit lane in the race at the time, but resumed the comeback between Sprint and race, which was still something unique, considering the value of Red Bull and Max that year).
That said, ours remains only a hypothesis, but Red Bull may have given it to everyone to drink, including us, and we wouldn't have realized it in the slightest. It's a game of chess and when the going gets tough it's worth everything.
Photo: Red Bull Racing
Read also in italian language: Dall’incomprensibile eliminazione all'exploit: le stranezze del sabato Red Bull
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