Verstappen statement taken out of context, says Windsor: ‘I never said that’

12:34, 30 Jul

byNicole Mulder

Peter Windsor has revisited a statement he made about Max Verstappen. He supposedly said that Verstappen would struggle to beat Oscar Piastri in equal cars, but according to the F1 analyst, this statement is taken out of context.

Windsor responds to the assertion in a recent video on his YouTube channel and makes it clear that he never said that: "I just said, of all the drivers in the other car that would make Max think and get his attention, it would be Oscar Piastri."

According to Windsor, he mainly wanted to emphasize how well Piastri is currently driving with that remark. "I was basically saying how good Oscar was and why Lando's looking pretty battle-scarred alongside him."

"Even Max, if Max had him alongside, would have to take him very seriously as another driver that he had to beat. He wouldn't be, in other words, just a number two rollover like Sergio Perez or Yuki Tsunoda or Liam Lawson. Daniel Ricciardo even."

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Verstappen is driving in a different class

Windsor emphasizes that he still thinks Verstappen is the better driver. "I think a straight fight, I've always said Max is a better driver and he's a short corner driver, Oscar isn't.

According to Windsor, it's not about mid-corner speed, but about a quick rotation and getting straight ahead as quickly as possible.

"He's in another class of the way they drive. And because that, if you perfect short corner driving, extending the straight in, extending the straight out with a not worrying about your minimum speed just getting the rotation perfect as Max often I'd say does 99% of the time."

That style is essential to deliver top-performance in varying conditions according to Windsor. "that's the way Charles Leclerc drives. That's how he finished third at Spa," Windsor says. "He tends to go there some ways, but overall Max is another class."