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peter windsor on sergio perez brazil

Windsor: 'Maybe Red Bull should think of someone else besides Verstappen'

6 November 2023 at 08:53
  • Ludo van Denderen

On paper, it should be pretty clear: Sergio Perez drove the fast Red Bull, while Fernando Alonso had an Aston Martin that has not been competitive in recent races. Yet it was the latter who outpaced the Mexican in his RB19, getting third place in the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Peter Windsor, a former Formula One employee who is now an analyst on his own YouTube channel, was critical of Perez after the Grand Prix. "I haven't been critical of Red Bull's choice of Perez as a number two to Max because I think he's the right sort of driver to have in that car if you've got Max Verstappen, as I've said a million times. But this is the first time where I thought, maybe Red Bull should be thinking about somebody else because he should have beaten Fernando Alonso today in the Aston Martin."

'Great from Alonso'

Perez seemed - after a lap-long battle - to claim the final podium spot for himself. With two laps to go, the Mexican used his DRS to get past Alonso. "But then he braked too late into turn one. Fernando got a run on him going down the hill, which is another DRS area, and re-passed him. Talk about embarrassing. A great move by Fernando, a hero of the crowd, probably driver of the day," the Australian concluded.

Incidentally, Windsor was wrong there. It was not Alonso who was voted best driver of the day by the F1 public. That honour went to Lando Norris. The McLaren driver came second. Incidentally, when the voting closed, Alonso's heroic overtaking move on Perez had yet to take place.