Despite securing his second win of the season in Hockenheim, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen downplayed his championship chances, insisting Mercedes remained “miles ahead”.
In a race marked by changing conditions and multiple Safety Car periods, strategy and skill played a crucial role in surviving the German Grand Prix’s chaos.
But Red Bull and Verstappen worked together to pull off a well-deserved win that consolidated the Dutchman’s third place in the drivers’ standings while also bringing him within 22 points of Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas.
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F1i’s Driver Ratings for the 2019 German GP
However, the 63-point spread between Hamilton and Verstappen keeps the reigning world champion comfortably ahead, a gap the Red Bull charger feels he’ll be challenged to fill given Mercedes’ supremacy.
“They are so miles ahead in the championship, it [the 63-point lead] is more than two victories, and they are still the dominant team, I think,” said Verstappen.
“We managed to do a good job but we still have to work very hard to close that gap and actually really fight for the victory every single race, so there’s still a lot of work to do.”
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