"The opening lap is going to be the make-or-break of the sprint race due to the decisions made by those who will be starting next to you," Marco Perrone said during the pre-sprint debriefing to bring everyone up to date with the overnight simulations they ran and the strategy they managed to come up with.
"Red Bull made late changes before the sprint qualifier to fit the car for racing; that is why they weren't faster in qualifying, and in return, we expect them to be very fast in the race.
As for what to have in mind with those two starting next to and behind us, remember that Verstappen has more downforce, so he will be fast in the corners, and Hamilton has less downforce, so he will be blistering on the straights, and even more so if he gets DRS.
It would work even better for Verstappen because he will be fast on both the straights and in the corners if he gets DRS.
