Windsor surprised by situation at Austin: 'It's almost like Monaco'

The United States Grand Prix looks set to be an exciting race, with chances for Red Bull and Mercedes. It is therefore crucial for the drivers to prepare as well as possible and complete as much as possible in the free practice sessions. That was however made difficult on Friday by all the traffic on the track.

According to Peter Windsor, it was striking how many cars got in each other's way on Friday, with one particular incident culminating in the race.

"More than ever before, the track seemed to be packed with cars," explained Windsor on his YouTube channel.

"There were a lot of incidents on the track with people calling each other names. At one point Max and Lewis ended up sitting next to each other. Lewis assumed Max would get off the gas and Max was doing a fast lap. Max even had to leave the track with four wheels. Both went full speed down the straight and eventually Max had to give way." 

The Dutchman treated Lewis Hamilton with an old fashioned middle finger.

Verstappen victim on Friday

The F1 journalist finds it curious that the Austin circuit is suddenly causing a lot of congestion, which hasn't been the case very often in the past.

"Austin suddenly seems like a circuit that lets cars drive close together. There were a lot of groups of drivers and people who had to go through the corners very slowly to get a free lap. Which is odd in Austin, as you would expect the long straight to get the cars more separated. It wasn't Monaco yet, but there were definitely a lot of cars close together."

One driver in particular took the brunt of all the cars on the tarmac. "Max was one of the drivers who could never do a free lap. Especially on the soft tire in the afternoon. He had to give that up eventually, he just couldn't put a fast lap on the board."

For Verstappen, he will hope that he does manage to complete his programme today, to prepare himself as best he can for qualifying.