FIA directive did not hurt Red Bull: 'It has hurt the opposition much more'

Max Verstappen drove qualifying in Belgium with less wing and therefore less downforce than his teammate Sergio Perez, with an eye on the overtaking race that awaits the Dutchman. Despite this, he pipped the competition to an almost otherworldly lap time of 1:43.665. Peter Windsor analyses where that lap time came from, sector by sector.

In the first sector Verstappen had to concede a little to Perez in terms of top speed but was still a tenth faster. In sector two, he ran as much as four tenths. "This is where the lap time came from," Windsor explains in his analysis on YouTube. He was therefore not surprised that the championship leader was again faster in the third sector.

Windsor praises Verstappen's performance

"So that lap time all came from sector two. From Max's ability, with less downforce in the car, just to perfectly balance it. Particularly through Pouhon and also in the approach to Stavelot. Just a phenomenal lap," the analyst continued.

Red Bull Racing has clearly come out of the summer break in a strong position, and the FIA's new technical directive does not seem to have had any effect on the RB18. "The new technical directive hasn't hurt Red Bull at all. It's hurt their opposition much more," Windsor observed.