In his analysis of Friday in Brazil, Peter Windsor mainly focused on the stark contrast between McLaren and Red Bull Racing. The 72-year-old analyst fears that Max Verstappen‘s situation will only deteriorate further during the weekend, while Lando Norris is in a seat for the sprint race despite missing out on pole position.
Windsor pointed out in his analysis YouTube first on the news that was confirmed by Red Bull before qualifying. ‘The biggest news is that Verstappen has a grid penalty of five places for the São Paulo Grand Prix. He does not receive that punishment for the sprint race, but for the Grand Prix, because they had to install a new combustion engine in the Red Bull. I have already indicated that reliability can play a major role in this championship,” said Windsor, who also sees that Verstappen is at a disadvantage.
Norris could get a new engine in Baku for only a two-place grid penalty, but McLaren did not consider this necessary. ‘With the Mercedes power source, at the back of the McLarens, we don’t see any problems at all, but Max had the problem of losing power in the race, so here he has a new combustion engine, with a grid penalty as a result. That’s bad news for him. This is on top of Red Bull’s other problems, while McLaren continues to grow stronger, and the gap between Verstappen and Norris continues to shrink.”
Verstappen versus the Ferraris
Windsor then shifts attention to the Sprint Shootout. “Oscar Piastri has taken pole position for the sprint race, but it is now almost inconceivable that McLaren will shoot itself in the foot again by not giving Lando maximum points,” said Windsor, who is very critical of McLaren’s team order from Hungary , which cost Norris the victory there. In Brazil, the British team had everything under control. ‘Oscar had already completed a lap at the start of SQ3, while the Ferraris and Max only came out on those new tires at the end.’
Verstappen finished in a Ferrarisandwich. ‘Charles Leclerc qualified just ahead of Max, who was just ahead of Carlos Sainz. Max complained that he was suffering from understeer,” says Windsor. Verstappen had to make do with what he has, while the McLaren was on rails. ‘Although Piastri took pole position, Norris was very fast and strong all day on the medium and soft tires. McLaren and Lando Norris are by far the fastest combination here.’
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A world of difference between McLaren and Norris.
Accumulation of problems
Windsor takes the sector times of the top drivers. ‘Max set the third fastest time in the first sector. In the middle sector he was fifth, and in the last sector he was even ninth,” the analyst shares. The second sector consists of slow bends while the last sector is one bend with a long ‘straight’ stretch. ‘It was all very close, but it also indicates that the Red Bull is not as fast as the McLaren on the straights. This is a difference of two or three kilometers per hour. In addition, the Red Bull is worse when entering slow corners, and less strong under traction.’
‘Red Bull is having a very difficult time competing against McLaren, which once again had a new upgrade here beam wing.’ Red Bull, on the other hand, can hardly bring any upgrades, because Sergio Pérez has caused too much damage. “McLaren is doing a great job aerodynamically. The fact that Carlos Sainz had approximately the same sector times as Red Bull indicates that Red Bull is no longer close to where they were before. Sainz dropped it in the last sector, while Leclerc was fastest there.’
Pérez again did not appear in the story. ‘Sergio Pérez had another disappointing day. You wonder how long this story between Red Bull and Pérez will continue.’ Windsor has long said that Pérez is the right choice for Red Bull, but even Windsor now seems to be losing confidence in the Mexican.
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Sergio Pérez is getting deeper and deeper into trouble.
Bad prospects for Verstappen
Windsor then shows that Lewis Hamilton and Norris were fastest on the straights at 329 kilometers per hour. The Red Bulls are at 327 kilometers per hour, with the Ferraris only at 325 kilometers per hour. In addition, Windsor indicates that Verstappen should have struck now. ‘So Max has no penalty for the sprint race, but he starts fourth. He really had to compensate for the punishment he will receive later this weekend, but this is not a good start to the weekend.’
Verstappen does not have to hope for more than this for the rest of the weekend, according to Windsor. ‘It will probably only get worse, because even if he is very fast in qualifying for the Grand Prix, he will start sixth. Realistically he’s more likely to finish seventh or eighth, and then you’ll be in a tight spot at the first corner. We also saw that in Interlagos,” Windsor hopes that Verstappen does not drop out on Sunday.
