F1: I was born to be useful, and you are all destined for greatness.

Verstappen was unable to activate DRES for two consecutive laps.

On this track, where overtaking is almost entirely dependent on the speed advantage provided by the DRRS zone or at the end of the DRRS zone, the upgraded Mercedes car's straight-line performance is almost identical to that of the Red Bull car. Without the DRRS, the Red Bull car is basically no match for the Mercedes car.

In addition, Verstappen and Russell were locked in a fierce battle ahead, which put pressure on Perez's car. Perez slowed down, but Taunter behind him was not slow. In just two laps, Taunter closed the gap on Perez by 0.5 seconds.

The longer Verstappen and Russell battled, the closer Tanger closed the gap behind Perez, and the further Leclerc pulled away from the lead.

If Tanger catches up with and overtakes Perez, it will be difficult for Perez to overtake him back, and he may lose his hope of competing for the podium; if Leclerc opens a pit stop window, Verstappen will be at a huge disadvantage.

Red Bull can't let Verstappen continue battling Russell!

The best way to end the battle is to overtake the car in front, but without Drs, Verstappen can't overtake, so Red Bull only has one option left.

On lap 13, the GP said in the radio: "Max, pit on the next lap."

If you're unable to overtake the car in front, try an undercut. Entering the pit might resolve the Verstappen DRIS issue; for minor problems like poor contact, the two seconds or so spent entering the pit can fix it.

Aren't Red Bull worried that Verstappen will be outmaneuvered by Toncher after his return from the field?

Although Tontard's car was not as good as Russell's Mercedes, Tontard's defensive skills made up for it very well, even to an excessive degree.

In general, it is widely believed in the paddock that the difficulty of surpassing Tanger is much greater than that of surpassing Russell!

There's really no need to worry about Verstappen being blocked by Tontard. Verstappen is only 3 seconds ahead of Tontard right now. After he changes tires and comes out of the pits, he will fall 18-19 seconds behind Tontard. Before Verstappen can catch up to Tontard, Tontard will have to pit for a tire change.

Verstappen: "copy".

Red Bull is going to call Verstappen into the pits, what does Mercedes say?

Mercedes: Great! He calls his driver into the pits, so I'll call mine too!

On lap 14, Russell and Verstappen pitted one after the other, and both dropped behind Bottas after exiting the pits.

The position they drop into when entering the station isn't a problem. Whether it's Bottas or Taunter, they will both enter the station later and drop behind Verstappen after exiting.

The relative positions after exiting the pits were a problem, because the two cars entered the pits on the same lap, and Verstappen was still stuck behind Russell after exiting the pits, so Verstappen had to continue battling with Russell.

Furthermore, Verstappen's DR's performance has gone from being completely unresponsive to being inconsistent, making it difficult for him to surpass Russell.

Verstappen's pit stop had absolutely no effect... but it did have some effect, at least Perez could run freely without worrying about being caught up by Tanger.

Now Tang Che can't catch up with the car in front, and the car behind can't catch up with Tang Che either. Tang Che is back to playing alone.

Verstappen's DRS is on! Is he fast enough to overtake Russell? No!

Next DRRS section, Verstappen's DRRS is inaccessible again!

On lap 18, Perez pitted, and Verstappen's DR was still unreliable.

On lap 20, Tanger pitted, and Verstappen's DR was still unreliable.

At this point, Leclerc's lead over p2 Russell had widened to 30 seconds, and even if he pitted, he would still be ahead of Russell after exiting the pits.

Verstappen snapped: "Why can't you even handle a DRSS?"

"It's really too tragic." —Soldier

After leaving the station, Tanger was still playing solo; he couldn't catch up with Perez in front of him, and Bottas behind him couldn't catch up with him either.

Tangche trailed Perez by 4.8 seconds, while Perez trailed Verstappen by 8 seconds.

Verstappen is still locked in a battle with Russell and is losing time. Perez is rapidly closing in on Verstappen, as is Tontatta, but Tontatta is certainly not closing in as fast as Perez. So while Tontatta is closing in on Verstappen, Perez is still pulling away.

If Verstappen and Russell battle for another 10 or 20 laps after Perez closes in, Tanger will have another chance to catch up with Perez.

Tanger: Take your method.

Don't overthink it. Just focus on running your own game. If you get a chance, great. If not, hold onto your rightful place.

On lap 22, Leclerc pitted and continued to lead the race after exiting the pits, 5.4 seconds ahead of p2 Russell.

"Leclerc had a really comfortable run today!" —Soldier

In contrast, Verstappen's DR is still unreliable.

On lap 24, in the Drs section before Turn 1, Verstappen's Drs was on fire!

This time, Verstappen had enough speed to attack Russell! Verstappen drove straight into the paint!

Russell cuts to the outside! He's going to race Verstappen in the corner!

Exiting the corner... Russell takes the lead! He naturally cuts into the inside of Turn 2! Regaining the lead!

But the lead wasn't secure! Verstappen attempted a counterattack at Turn 3!

Russell dribbles into the 3rd bend! Verstappen attacks the perimeter!

Russell pushed Verstappen outwards! Verstappen's left tire went off the track! Verstappen had no space!

That was a beautiful defensive play! Russell held his position!

However, Russell's pressure on Verstappen at Turn 3 was suspected of being a violation.

FIA: "The incident involving Russell and Verstappen at Turn 3 has been recorded."

FIA: "The incident involving Russell and Verstappen at Turn 3 will not be penalized."

Beautiful! Russell held his position perfectly!

Verstappen: ...

Another DRRS zone, Verstappen's DRRS is malfunctioning again.

"I think this is fate! This is meant to let us see an even more exciting grappling match." — Fei Ge

I'll just say a few words; who knows if fate can hear me or not? (crossed out)

On lap 25, Perez closed in on Verstappen.

On lap 26, Perez swaggered: "Tell Max to get out of the way, I'll take care of Russell!"

Under normal circumstances, if driver #2 lets driver #1 pass, it can be described in one sentence: "A one-on-one battle? Do you think you're Kobe Bryant?!"

But this is not the normal situation now.

Perez may not be the top dog, but his tires are new, his DR's are in good shape, and he's definitely more promising to attack Russell than Verstappen.

This put the team in a difficult position.

Putting aside the fact that the team should maintain the tactical status of the number 1 driver to avoid internal strife caused by unclear status within the team, the number 1 driver Verstappen is currently in a state of vulnerability. If the team gives him an order to give way, he will not only not listen, but will also explode on the spot.

However, if Perez is not allowed to attack Russell, both Red Bull cars will be stuck behind Russell. The longer they are stuck behind, the bigger Leclerc's lead will become, and the smaller Red Bull's chances of winning the championship will be.

"No! No! No!" Leclerc shouted into the TR, "What happened? What happened? No power!"