Red Bull sacrifices Sochi for altitude races

as they compensate for the impact of thinner air on power output from the combustion engine. Verstappen claimed that the C’s turbocharger would not last in Mexico (around 2250m above sea level) and Brazil (850m), which triggered a war of words between the Dutchman and Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul. Horner said: “max has made his feelings clear. As we all know, Cyril tends to get a little bit emotional, so we’re very much focused on finishing the relationship on a positive note. “I was just surprised he [Verstappen] didn’t mention anything when he came up to lap [Renault driver Nico] Hulkenberg.” he extended a long first stint and eventually finished fifth, while Daniel Ricciardo made slower progress to sixth after picking up bodywork damage early on. “To win the race would have been very tough today,” said Red Bull team boss Christian Horner. “we could have challenged Ferrari harder. We might have been able to have a go at them in qualifying and I think we’d have been putting a lot more pressure on them.” Red Bull will now alternate between its ‘Spec C ’and‘ spec B ’engines. Air density decreases as altitude increases, which stresses the turbocharger and MGU-H Red Bull sacrificed its chances of challenging Mercedes and Ferrari in the Russian Grand Prix in order to boost its prospects at Formula 1’s upcoming high-altitude races in Mexico and Brazil. The team used Renault’s upgraded ‘spec C’ engine in Italy and Singapore but switched to a fresh ‘spec B’ in Russia, which Max Verstappen claimed was because the ‘spec C’ would not be able to complete the races at altitude. That meant both drivers dropped to 18th and 19th on the grid at Sochi, where Verstappen charged through to fifth in just eight laps. He then led more laps than any other driver as