Windsor: 'Virtual safety car crucial for Verstappen with high top speed'

Max Verstappen defeated Charles Leclerc in Saudi Arabia after a fight that lasted about half the race. Peter Windsor analyzed the fight and concluded that the virtual safety car played a crucial role for Verstappen who had a higher top speed.

Lap after lap, Verstappen and Leclerc continued to drive the same insane times at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. The drivers indicated that it seemed like qualifying laps. Neither of them gave up and competed for DRS on the straight start/finish section of the track. In the end, it was the virtual safety car that brought Verstappen into attacking territory with Leclerc and played a crucial factor in the Dutchman's victory.

Two crucial reasons for Verstappen's victory

Peter Windsor analyzes the fight between the two drivers in a YouTube video and identifies two key elements that allowed Verstappen to win the race. That first element is the difference in balance between the Red Bull car and the Ferrari car. Whereas Ferrari was mainly setup with more downforce and could drive a fast first sector, the Red Bull had a higher top speed, so it gave in in sector 1, but could make up for that on the rest of the track. In addition, the Red Bull Powertrain was also running very fast. Red Bull consistently drove six to seven kilometers per hour faster than the Ferrari, according to Windsor.

The second crucial element was the virtual safety car that fell with only twelve laps to go. Windsor: "In that period the tyres obviously lost their temperature and that affected Ferrari more than Red Bull Racing. That was for the simple reason that they needed more grip to do their lap than Red Bull." In the end, what was decisive in the race was Verstappen's ability to grab the lead before Sector 1. With three laps to go, two of which were under the yellow flag in that sector, Leclerc just couldn't come back.