F1 fans accused Red Bull of showing off after Max Verstappen was told not to use DRS towards the end of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Verstappen had a comfortable lead over team-mate Sergio Perez when a message came over the radio informing the championship leader that he should no longer use DRS. Some TV viewers interpreted the order as a sign that Red Bull were showing off given their total dominance in Baku.
One person wrote: "Red Bull and Max Verstappen now just showing off discussing what temperature to run the tyres at and running without DRS." While someone else said: "Wise thing to do that from Red bull no pressure no need to use DRS now."
A third person added: "Just how easy is this race win for Red Bull & Max Verstappen? GP and Verstappen are debating 'how slow they can race' till the chequered flag. An old Motorsport saying – winning the race at the slowest possible pace! 'NO DRS', VER is told."
However, despite holding an advantage that would have allowed them to sacrifice DRS purely to showboat, Red Bull actually had a very good reason for telling Verstappen to hold off on the drag reduction system.
Just a few laps earlier, AlphaTauri driver Yuki Tsunoda saw the DRS flaps on the back of his car rip apart as he attempted to use them down the straight.
Although the Japanese ace did not retire from the race, he did have to come into the pits to rectify the issue, giving up track position as a result.
As AlphaTauri are the sister team to Red Bull, there would have been a fear on the Red Bull pit wall that a similar issue could befall one of their drivers towards the end of the race.
Given Verstappen's comfortable lead at the front of the pack, the Dutchman was told not to use DRS in order to mitigate that risk and ensure that he crossed the finish line safely.
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The 24-year-old took the advice of his team and finished first, just over 20 seconds ahead of team-mate Perez. Verstappen now has a 21-point lead over the Mexican at the top of the F1 standings, with Ferrari ace Charles Leclerc back in third on 116 points after his DNF in Baku.
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