Winner of the Dutch GP predicted: ‘Even rain can no longer help Verstappen’
Up next on the F1 calendar is the Dutch Grand Prix. Peter Windsor gave an exclusive interview to GPblog looking ahead to the race in Zandvoort. What can Max Verstappen achieve and who will claim victory on Sunday?
Max Verstappen has won the first three recent editions of the Dutch Grand Prix since its return in 2021. Last year, Lando Norris proved too fast in the McLaren, as the Dutchman finished in second place.
In an exclusive interview with GPblog, Windsor spoke about his expectations for the upcoming Dutch GP in Zandvoort. The former team manager expects the field to be close together, but he thinks McLaren may likely hold the upper hand.
According to Windsor, Zandvoort is a small, easy circuit where not much happens
“Zandvoort's a good example, where there are not many nice corners, where guys like Max can’t do much, and it'll bring the field quite tightly together. It's a bit of a small circuit with not a lot going on. McLaren will be good on the slow corners and traction and turning, which is a bit boring, isn't it? Because you can't really see it.”
Verstappen can achieve a good result when everything works out. “And everybody else will be okay everywhere. Guys like Lewis will be near, Charles, and normal Yuki won't be that far behind Max. Because it's not a difficult circuit, as I said. And as a result, somebody like Max, if things go right in terms of safety car, strategy, all that stuff, he can have a good result at Zandvoort in front of his home crowd."
“Anything can happen at Zandvoort.”- Peter Windsor
If he qualifies in the top five or top six, there are good chances for Verstappen. “But it won't be because Red Bull have suddenly got a car that's going to be a lot quicker than the McLaren," Windsor continued.
“It's just because it's that sort of circuit and anything can happen at Zandvoort sort of thing, providing you're in the top five or six. But to be in the top five or six is not going to be easy.”
“You're going to have guys like Hadjar, guys like probably Bearman are going to be up there too, I would have thought. And obviously Lawson too. And Gasly, I guess. So, more of the same. But Zandvoort will tighten up the field a bit. And then we'll get to Monza and then it'll be all back to normal again.”
Who does Windsor think will win the Dutch Grand Prix?
Rain is forecast for the weekend in Zandvoort, though according to Windsor this means little. “If it really is wet... What does that mean anyway? If it's really wet, they're not going to race, are they? And if it's semi-wet, it's always going to dry out. And if it is going to dry out, it's always going to be good for McLaren.”
Even rain can't help Verstappen anymore. “I think the days of saying, 'well, that's going to be good for someone like Max' are probably over because we've seen that the wet doesn't really help him anymore. And anyway, you've got to before qualifying if it's going to be wet or not on Sunday. If you take the wrong gamble, wrong decision, it doesn't help you anyway.”
“I think the days of saying, 'well, that's going to be good for someone like Max' are probably over.”- Peter Windsor
Windsor pointed out who he thinks will win the race on Sunday. “So, putting all that wet stuff to one side, on the assumption that it's dry, I would say Lando's going to win it.”
“Not because he's on a bit of a roll, but because, as I say, I think McLaren's advantage over Ferrari and Mercedes at Zandvoort will be turning and traction into those two slow corners and at the end of the straight. And if that's the case, I think Lando will do a slightly better job in qualifying than Oscar, maximizing that specific quality of the McLaren. And around the other corners, the bank thing and the one behind the bits, they'll be very, very similar. How's Lando going to be slower than Oscar there?”
Yet, the rain could still cause peculiar situations. “So I think Lando will probably outqualify Oscar, which then in theory should give him the win in the race. But if it's wet, as I say, I don't know, it'll be mayhem. Well, it won't be. It'll just be one of those ridiculous things where some people gamble on set up and some don't," Windsor concluded.
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