Windsor understands Verstappen: 'Not how he wants to display his skill'

Max Verstappen does not think it is an improvement that more and more permanent circuits are having to give way to (semi)street circuits. According to the Formula 1 driver, this is a money-based choice by Liberty Media and certainly does not benefit racing. With Madrid, there will be yet another race through a city on the calendar from 2026. Peter Windsor discusses it in his latest YouTube video.

"Has he actually said he doesn't like street circuits, or has he said he doesn't like the modern version of street circuits?," Windsor questions aloud on his Youtube channel. "I think there's a difference. He might well have been quoted out of context there, or they might have clipped the quote. I can't imagine Max doesn't like going into Casino Square at Monaco or going to the swimming pool at Monaco or indeed doing what he did to get the pole through Rascasse at Monaco."

He continued: "That's classic Max Verstappen, and I'm sure it would be almost impossible for Max to say I don't like street circuits, if in his mind he was thinking of Monaco," the analyst said. "But if he's thinking of Vegas' and the Miamis and all that, I kind of get it because it's walls and it's fences and it's not one 90-degree corner after another, but there's a bit of that. He's a racing driver and he loves his thrill. Maybe thrill is not the right word to describe that, but whatever it is, he doesn't get it."

Lots of 'easy' corners in F1

According to Windsor, the corners on many such street circuits are not challenging enough. At corners like Casino Square in Monaco, the S's at Suzuka,
Pouhon or Eau Rouge or Silverstone's Copse Corner and Becketts, you can make more of a difference as a driver. In 90-degree corners, all drivers do more of the same.

"So that's what he's saying, and I totally get it. Everybody's a late breaker these days. Everybody can basically get on the power quite early and hold a slide. And the standard of driving therefore, given all the telemetry and all the information you have before you can get in the car, is pretty high if you've got good balance, eyesight, rhythm and all the other things you need. And so where's the challenge in that? I'm not saying Max doesn't do that better than everybody else, or Max and Lewis and a couple of others, but it's not really how he wants to display his skill."