Peter Windsor scolds 163-race Formula 1 driver as a ‘disgrace’ at the São Paulo Grand Prix

Follow us on Google Discover

The Sao Paulo Grand Prix was one of the most chaotic races in recent F1 history, with one team in particular suffering a miserable weekend.

Max Verstappen produced perhaps one of the best drives of his career as he went from 177th on the grid to win the race in the torrential rain. Alpine secured their best result of the season as Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly completed the podium.

Qualifying took place on Sunday morning after the session was cancelled on Saturday due to poor weather. The session would become the earliest qualifying session in F1 history, as well as one of the most hectic as five red flags were brought out during proceedings.

This is where things began to unravel for Aston Martin and their weekend, but not before both cars got through to Q2. Franco Colapinto found the barriers in Q1 before Carlos Sainz spun and hit the wall in the second part of qualifying.

Both Aston Martin drivers Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso set good enough times to reach Q3, but the former found the barriers as well, ultimately costing Max Verstappen a place in the final part of qualifying as the session was red flagged 40 seconds after the crash.

Alonso hit the wall too, followed by the second Williams of Alex Albon, who was unable to start the race due to the extensive damage to his car. Remarkably, Aston Martin managed to get their cars ready for the race, but their weekend did not improve.

Peter Windsor calls Lance Stroll a ‘disgrace’ after his miserable weekend in Sao Paulo

On the formation lap, Stroll spun off the track heading down to Descida do Lago. Jolyon Palmer believes Stroll had an issue with his car that led to his bizarre spin.

The Canadian driver was stuck off the track for some time, and when he eventually got his car going again, he attempted to cross through a gravel trap to return to the circuit, but got beached and ended up not even starting the race.

Timo Glock thinks Stroll does not deserve a place in F1 after his questionable antics during the weekend, and even the crowd echoed these feelings. Fans were heard chanting Felipe Drugovich’s name in the grandstands, as the Brazilian and Aston Martin reserve driver was at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix in the garage.

Peter Windsor also had the same feelings, as speaking on the Cameron Cc YouTube channel, he called Stroll a ‘disgrace’ for his performance and thought that Drugovich should have been in his place for his home Grand Prix.

“Well, Stroll was just a disgrace wasn’t he?” he said.

“To have Felipe Drugovich in the garage there. I mean, when I saw Oliver Bearman was going to be racing instead of poor old K Mag, who probably would have gone very well, I thought ‘yes! Maybe now, Aston Martin will have the brains to put Drugovich in the car.

“But they didn’t, and there’s Stroll who might as well have not turned up in Brazil at all. Aston Martin might has well not have been there. [They] were actually worse than Stake Sauber weren’t they, really? You’ve got to say. What is going on there?”

Aston Martin are struggling for performance despite being fifth in the constructors’ standings

Aston Martin have fallen far behind in competitiveness compared to last season, where the team enjoyed their best season since their rebranding from Racing Point in 2022.

The Silverstone-based team finished fifth in the standings with 280 points, as Alonso scored eight podiums to record his best finish in a championship since 2013 with fourth.

This season, while Aston Martin are currently matching their finish from last year, they have only managed 86 points with no podiums. Alonso is ninth in the drivers’ standings, having scored 62 of those points.

Stroll has recorded a best finish of sixth in Australia, but he has not scored a point since the Hungarian Grand Prix. Aston Martin are probably safe from the likes of Alpine, Haas and RB, but they are nowhere near the level of the top four teams in front of them.