Windsor warns against false hope at Mercedes: "That can mislead Mercedes, as we saw last year"

Peter Windsor is grateful to Max Verstappen for setting the fastest lap time, despite the warning flag. According to the 71-year-old Brit, it offers an opportunity to see the difference in speed between Red Bull Racing and Mercedes in Barcelona. Windsor acknowledges that Mercedes has indeed made progress, but Verstappen was never in danger.

Windsor believes the fact that the two Red Bull drivers were the only ones to use the medium tires on the starting grid demonstrates their confidence. "Red Bull and Max Verstappen made no mistakes, except for some trouble with track limits. They opted for the conservative choice of starting Max on the medium tires so he could have a long first stint," Windsor said in his race analysis. "It was always going to be a bit tricky at the start, especially because Ferraris often start well. And that proved to be the case. Max had a good start but saw Sainz coming on the outside, yet Verstappen held his line, and Sainz had to accept defeat. After that, it was game over, race over. Verstappen was in a class of his own, and Red Bull acted accordingly. They went as fast as necessary, depending on where the competition was."

Verstappen was once again untouchable today, as he has been for the last few weeks. "Max was simply fantastic. He is now the Verstappen we know in dry conditions," Windsor points out the fact that Verstappen took longer lines in his corners yesterday to generate temperature in his tires. According to Windsor, Verstappen drove different lines today than yesterday and opted for the shorter lines that we are accustomed to from the Dutchman. "In the closing stages, Verstappen set a low 1:17, while Hamilton set a high 1:17. I think that accurately reflects the difference," Windsor calculates. "At that point, Max received a warning flag for exceeding track limits three times in three different corners. Max was informed of this over the team radio and was asked not to take any more risks. Less than three minutes later, Max asked about the fastest lap time, and against his team's advice, he then clocked a 1:16.3. Interestingly, Lewis also made an attempt and achieved a 1:16.6. Max possibly still had some margin left, considering his warning flag. So, Mercedes seems to have closed the gap a bit. Hats off to them!"

Repeat looming for Mercedes?

For the first time this season, Mercedes was clearly faster than Aston Martin and Ferrari. "Sainz was blown away by the Mercedes cars of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell. Lewis (Hamilton, ed.) was very strong in this race. He got lucky at the start, when Lando Norris hit him. Hamilton was fortunate not to have a puncture. He kept going and performed very well. Russell also did a great job, and there seems to be no animosity between the two drivers," Windsor noted, referring to the fact that the teammates came into contact with each other during yesterday's qualifying session. "Mercedes showed good speed and was not only much stronger than Ferrari but also compared to Aston Martin. It is possible that Mercedes or Aston Martin will win races later this season, partly because Red Bull will no longer invest in the current car and will focus on 2024. That could mislead Mercedes again, just as we saw last year when Mercedes won in Brazil," Windsor expects Red Bull to extend their lead again tomorrow.