Analyst says Mercedes are to blame for Q2 exit: 'Should have driven FP1'

Peter Windsor auctioned a verdict on his YouTube channel on Saturday's qualifying session. Max Verstappen on pole and Lewis Hamilton who was eliminated after only the second qualifying session. Where was the difference according to the English analyst?

What Windsor will remember is the lock-ups of Verstappen and Norris: '’We don’t often see Max in full-blooded opposite lock slides. Admittedly, coming out of slow corners. We’re not talking about highspeed drifts here. But very impressive to watch.'' said Windsor. He was also complimentary about his compatriot at McLaren on the subject: "Lando Norris too, in the McLaren. Amazing car control through the medium speed change of direction corners as well." Final verdict on Verstappen and Red Bull? According to Windsor, this is where Red Bull excels: "A really impressive performance by Red Bull to be so quick on the straight, but still to be quick enough through sectors one and three. What a great racing car that RB19 is."

Disappointed with Hamilton

For Lewis Hamilton, Windsor had harsh words: "Very disappointed, very disillusioned, very sad to see Lewis walking down the pt lane after Q2. I mean, this isn’t what Formula 1 needs." Where is the focus for Hamilton now, according to the Briton? Next season: "Obviously, all of his motivation, all of his hope is based on the 2024 Mercedes. So from his point of view, let’s hope it is a good car." Windsor thinks the poor qualifying was down to one point: "I think you can trace it back really, to not running in FP1 on Friday. It was a relatively difficult weekend for Mercedes to get the car absolutely right. We know how small the operating window is and Lewis never seemed to be in that window."