Red Bull have been a class apart throughout the 2023 season and once again showcased their brilliance at the United States Grand Prix this past weekend. F1 expert Peter Windsor has explained how the Milton Keynes outfit perfectly executed their strategy for Max Verstappen to prevent the Dutchman from getting disqualified like Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc did.
Both the Briton and the Monegasque driver had a disastrous end to their weekends as they were stripped of their points-scoring finishes after their cars failed to meet the technical regulations. The stewards had no choice but to disqualify both Hamilton and Leclerc after the skids on the bottom of both of their cars had worn to such an extent that they no longer met the regulations.
Hamilton was disqualified from a second-place finish, while Leclerc was disqualified from sixth. The stewards disqualified both drivers after they carried out a random check for four drivers, with the other two being race-winner Verstappen and second-placed Lando Norris. No further action was taken against the Dutchman or the 23-year-old Briton since the stewards determined that the cars of both drivers met the technical regulations.
However, Windsor believes that it was not just luck that cost Hamilton and Leclerc following this investigation. The 71-year-old believes that it was instead a clever bit of strategy that Red Bull used that ensured that Verstappen did not have any troubles with technical regulations checks even after the race.
Peter Windsor explained how Red Bull outsmarted Lewis Hamilton
In his post-United States Grand Prix analysis, Peter Windsor explained why he believes Red Bull came well-prepared for the race. Since there was only one practice session because of the sprint race format, many teams struggled to get their race simulations. However, Red Bull were not one of them.
Windsor believes that the Milton Keynes outfit carried out their thorough race simulations during the one practice session to ensure that they knew what would be the optimal tire strategy for the main race on Sunday. The 71-year-old explained his views by pointing out why it was crucial for Max Verstappen to have a short first stint.
“I think they knew there would be a possible problem. At the end of that stint, the tires deteriorate, and if you still have a lot of fuel, those are the laps where you cause the most damage to the board because the car moves more and so you get more damage,” explained Windsor via his official YouTube channel.
Verstappen just had a first stint of 16 laps in contrast to the lengthier stints both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton had. The Monegasque extended his first stint to 23 laps, the most by any driver during the US GP.
Meanwhile, the Briton extended his first stint to 20 laps. Since multiple drivers had a first stint of over 20 laps, Windsor believes that more of them could have been at risk of facing disqualification. However, since the stewards only checked four cars, only Hamilton and Leclerc suffered this fate.
Windsor believes Ricciardo and Stroll could have also run the risk of disqualification
After giving his thoughts on Red Bull’s brilliance, Peter Windsor also stated the other drivers alongside Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc that should have been disqualified. “Ricciardo’s car was probably illegal, and Lance Stroll’s might have been illegal too,” the 71-year-old added.
However, neither of the two drivers were at risk of disqualification as, according to a report put out by f1maximaal.nl, the stewards only carried out checks for the cars of the top four best-ranked teams. As a result, the report adds that the rest of the teams “in theory” can also “circumvent an important rule set for safety reasons.”
