'Max Verstappen nails the sweet spot at Barcelona, showcasing his top driving skills'
09:42, 31 May
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Max Verstappen is having a great weekend in Spain so far. Although the world champion was not the fastest in any of the first practices, the long runs are looking very promising. Peter Windsor explains how Verstappen stands out over the other drivers in Spain.
Yuki Tsunoda complained about a lack of grip, but Max Verstappen managed to find the ‘sweet spot’
Windsor delves into his analysis on one specific turn at the Barcelona Circuit where, according to him, the difference among drivers can be seen. He believes the car needs to be positioned in a certain way, and Verstappen is one of the few who can really do that. And that's despite the Red Bull struggling with balance.
‘’And that's what Max Verstappen was doing beautifully today in the Red Bull, a car that Yuki Tsunoda on soft tyres said had absolutely zero grip front and rear. But Max somehow found a sweet spot in terms of grip level, nothing like the same balance or overall downforce as the McLaren. It was very clear to the eye.''
''But Max in turn two, lovely little bit of additional steering lock, coming out with slight understeer. The way he was massaging that understeer, absolutely beautiful to watch, allowing him then to have a virtually straight exit from two and almost to line it up into three without any change of direction at al.’’
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Max Verstappen in VT2 during the Spanish Grand Prix
According to Windsor, Verstappen is one of the few drivers who can do it this way, he compares him to the other drivers.
‘’Contrast that with, say, the Liam Lawsons of this world, the Carlos Sainz's, the Alex Albon's, even, I've got to say, the Oscar Piastri's, who are going to the right, coming out of two, and then a big ask is the change of direction to the left, loading up the left rear, and then going into the right. Oliver Berman had a big spin in the Haas Ferrari at exactly that moment.’’
Windsor thinks that the majority of drivers make this ‘mistake’ and sees only the real great drivers approach the turn differently. ‘’I would say 75% of the field are doing that and it's only right at a late turn in into three. And I would say 75% of the field are doing that and it's only right at the top that we're seeing the Charles Leclerc, the Max Verstappen's, to some extent the Lando Norris’’, concludes Windsor.
This article was written in collaboration with Hidde Korte.
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