F1 analyst confident Verstappen 'knows what he's doing' at Spa
F1 analyst Peter Windsor has reviewed Max Verstappen and Red Bull’s weekend so far, highlighting how the Dutchman opted for a lower downforce setup during the Sprint Race before switching to a higher rear wing configuration in anticipation of a potentially wet Grand Prix.
Rain is predicted for the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday. As a result, Red Bull Racing decided to run qualifying with more downforce on Saturday than on Friday.
Peter Windsor analysed the situation after the session on his YouTube channel: ''Max Verstappen (set) a 1.40.903. Charles did the time a little bit later than Max. I don't think that meant anything. In fact, the track was probably getting a little bit slower.''
The Australian is confident that Max Verstappen, born in Belgium, knows what he is doing on the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps: ''What this really means, as you can see from that, is that Max Verstappen was effectively driving a very different racing car today.''
''He alone, he’s put a lot more wing into the Red Bull on the basis that it's going to be wet tomorrow. He's a relative local, so I guess he knows what he's doing.''
Windsor appreciates the efforts of the Austrian team. The last Grand Prix in wet conditions, in Silverstone, turned out to be a difficult story: ''Don't forget that the Red Bull was terrible in the wet, in the greasy conditions at Silverstone.''
Radical set-up change for Verstappen after sprint race
The biggest difference in the RB21 between Friday and Saturday was the top speed, according to Windsor: ''You can see there the incredible drop that Max has had in top speed from one day to the next, he's put more wing onto the Red Bull.''
''Yesterday, top speed of 343, just before they break at the top of the hill. Today, maximum for Max 337, which actually puts him slower of all his nearest opposition.''
Verstappen started the Belgian sprint from P2, but managed to overtake Oscar Piastri in the opening lap. After that he was able to keep the McLarens behind him for the entire race and secure the victory. Piastri hopes to do the same as the Dutchman during Sunday's Grand Prix.
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