Mercedes builds huge gap on straights: 'Helped by new Pirelli tyre'

Amid the hotly contested battle for the 2021 constructors' title, Mercedes appears to have a significant engine advantage this Grand Prix weekend at Italy. According to Formula One journalist Peter Windsor, this is largely down to the new, harder Pirelli rear tyre introduced at Silverstone, which makes Red Bull's downforce advantage unimportant at some circuits.

"Monza is basically an extrapolation of the pace we’re seeing from Mercedes from Silverstone onwards", Windsor begins in an analysis on his YouTube channel. During qualifying on Friday, Bottas was too fast for the competition with a difference of around four tenths of a second.

The Brit continues, and sees the renewed Pirelli rear tyre making the difference at the top team. Windsor: "It’s almost as if, in the first half of the year, Mercedes were a little bit behind Red Bull in terms of downforce. But that has kind of been rectified by that new Pirelli rear, and we’re seeing that in its ultimate form here in Monza."

Advantage on the straight

"Mercedes is really quick, over one lap and in terms of the straight line speed advantage", Windsor concludes. Whereas Hamilton and Bottas recorded top speeds of 337 and 338 kilometres per hour respectively on the straight, the Red Bull's was 331.