Windsor Analyzes Belgium GP in Context of 2021 Season: Discover the Insights

An unexpected issue during the Belgian Grand Prix was how hard it was to overtake. Many drivers were unhappy about this after the race. F1 analyst Peter Windsor shared his thoughts on why it happened.

Max Verstappen started from 11th place because of a grid penalty. Normally, Spa-Francorchamps is great for overtaking, but not this year. Even with a fast car, he struggled and finished fifth, which became fourth after George Russell‘s disqualification.

Windsor’s Analysis

Peter Windsor discussed the race on his YouTube channel. He said several things stopped Verstappen from moving up despite having a faster car.

“Max Verstappen, because through sectors one and three, he was about the same as everyone else. His top speed was about the same as Ferrari and McLaren and Mercedes,” Windsor explained. “Sector two is where he had his advantage. But because Max was in a DRS train for most of the race, he couldn’t use his advantage.”

Verstappen couldn’t pass anyone using DRS since cars ahead also had their wings flattened out. In sector two, where he usually excels, he couldn’t get close enough to any car—especially George Russell’s—and his tires wore out due to dirty air.

The latest cars are designed to follow each other better and overtake more easily. However, Windsor believes that’s not happening now; it’s like being back in 2021 again.

“I think that factor of how difficult it was to follow other cars was not something that was evident until we got to Spa this year,” Windsor said. “And of course, it is a factor of how they’ve made these cars since 2022 less susceptible to bouncing.”

Fans might wonder if these changes are making racing less exciting .

“The aerodynamics under the car have certain aggressive curves creating turbulence,” Windsor added. “We’re almost back—or probably are back—to where we were in 2021 regarding following closely behind another car.”

What do you think? Is F1 getting harder or more fun to watch?