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windsor response to gp hungary 2023

Windsor: 'I'd be shocked if Max hadn’t won or wouldn't have been second'

24 July at 08:08
Last update 24 July at 08:24

Sergio Perez may have driven from ninth place to third, but Peter Windsor is not impressed by the Mexican at all. According to the F1 journalist, especially given Max Verstappen's stunning dominance, the veteran should definitely have finished second in the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Perez is not going through the best phase of his career. The world championship number two's self-confidence suffered several dents in recent weeks, but according to Windsor it was not just the lack of self-confidence that prevented a second-place finish in Budapest. Indeed, it was also about driving style, something Norris was actually very good at.

"t's not a question of confidence. It's a question of shortening his corners and actually getting the thing sitting square on the groove of the line so we can actually have a bigger margin for error. He needs to develop redevelop the way he drives the car along the lines of Max, he will never be a Max, but he can start to get into that, that spectrum if you like. And I think, if the position has been reversed, I'd be shocked if Max hadn’t won or wouldn't have been second in that race in that car," Windsor said.

Perez gives up ground

In the end, Perez did not almost finish second, but rather almost fourth. Verstappen's teammate landed briefly off track in the closing stages, causing him to suffer a lot of pick-up on his tyres. He lost a lot of pace as a result and number four Lewis Hamilton briefly approached him to within a second and a half, although Perez himself said he had everything under control.

According to Windsor, though, it is worrying that Hamilton could get so close. "there is an art to driving with crud on the tyres. And Max even made the point, you know, he ran wide, I think once he turned one and got stones on and took him a lap to get it off. I'm amazed actually that Perez in that RB19 didn't finish second. There you go," said the Briton in a critical tone.