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"The strategy may have been aggressive, but Verstappen was not"

25 October 2021 at 09:49
Last update 25 October 2021 at 11:31
  • GPblog.com

After the United States Grand Prix there was a lot of talk about the aggressive strategy of Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing. Formula 1 journalist Peter Windsor saw Verstappen drive anything but aggressively, he explains in a video on YouTube.

Aggressive strategy but not an aggressive race from Verstappen

"The race was a nail-biter," begins Windsor. "Brilliant win for Max Verstappen and Red Bull Honda, also Lewis Hamilton did an excellent job in the Mercedes. You can argue about how much Verstappen really got out of that brilliant pole lap though, as he made a pretty slow start. His reaction time was good, but the Mercedes got away better on the inside of the track and by the time they got to the first corner there wasn't much he could do, except go wide and come back."

He continued: "After the race there was a lot of talk about Verstappen's aggressive strategy. The strategy was indeed aggressive if you look at when he stopped for his first and second set of tyres, but if you look at the race as a whole Max was not aggressive, Lewis was actually the one who was out of sync."

Crucial role for Perez

Windsor also praised the Sergio Perez, who got off the gas to let his teammate past as he came back onto the track. "A shoutout to Sergio for the way he backed off and let Max past to take back P2. That was a very significant move by Sergio," Windsor said.

"I wonder if George Russell would do the same for Hamilton next year - I have my doubts about it," the Brit continued. "Sergio did a really good job and showed himself to be a good teammate. The poor guy also finished the whole race not being able to drink, so he had a very hot day."