Priestley analyses: 'I don’t think that looked good on Red Bull'

Marc Priestley is aware of the fierce battle between Red Bull Racing and Mercedes, both on and off the track, but he believes the team of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez should be less concerned with what their rivals are doing.

"This war of words in the media, it is part of the game but it has escalated in recent weeks," Priestley said in his latest video on YouTube. The Briton himself worked as a mechanic at McLaren from 2000 to 2009 and during that time he experienced a similar situation.

McLaren vs. Ferrari

McLaren was engaged in a fierce battle with Ferrari during that period. "It was pretty much the same thing. We had teams protesting each other, trying to catch each other out, keeping things deliberately very, very secret from each other. Those games were happening back then," he explained.

Priestley thinks Red Bull shot themselves in the foot by exaggerating the British Grand Prix incident when Hamilton knocked his Dutch rival off the track. "The way they played it over the the media and over the course of the appeal system over the two weeks, I don’t think looked good on Red Bull."

Talking on the track

According to the 44-year-old analyst, the Austrian formation needs to put what happened at Silverstone and at the Hungaroring behind them. The team has three weeks to do so now that it is summer break. "Ultimately they have a car that is worthy of winning a championship and I would love to see them get on with the racing on the track and do it that way around."