Lando Norris won over the crowd with his impressive second-place finish at the British Grand Prix, Max Verstappen did the same at his home GP in Zandvoort. And now the Spaniard is looking to achieve a similar feat in front of Ferrari’s home after his remarkable performance at the Italian Grand Prix qualifying had the spectators on their feet. However, was this sufficient to gain acclaim from all corners? Probably not, as an ex-Ferrari boss remains fervently impressed by Max Verstappen’s maturity, despite Carlos Sainz outperforming the double champion to secure pole position.

The 29-year-old has maintained a positive attitude about his performance throughout the 2023 season. In each race, he has been striving to outperform competitors like Max Verstappen and his teammate Charles Leclerc. Nevertheless, Ferrari’s favoritism and the impressive speed of Max Verstappen’s RB19 have hindered his aspirations for victory. But now that he deserves all the acclaim interestingly, an ex-Ferrari boss hasn’t shown the same level of enthusiasm, but rather he has been vocal in praising Verstappen’s skills.

Carlos Sainz finds himself pushed to the sidelines while the ex-Ferrari boss praises Max Verstappen

At Monza, Sainz managed to narrowly secure pole position, edging out Max Verstappen by a mere 0.013 seconds. This exceptional performance in qualifying set him apart as the fourth driver this year to outperform Max Verstappen. The other three are Charles Leclerc, Sergio Perez, and Lewis Hamilton. However, despite his remarkable display on the tight corners, Sainz didn’t quite steal the spotlight. On his YouTube channel, Peter Windsor heaped praise on Verstappen. According to the former Ferrari boss, the Red Bull ace consistently operates without leaving any room for error.

The 71-year-old elaborated by saying, “Carlos Sainz was quickest on his pole lap through Sector 2. And I put that down to two things. One, Max Verstappen made a mistake in Q1 at the exit of the second Lesmo, and his first time in Q1 on the hard tyre was deleted because he ran a little bit wide.” With the statement, it seems that Windsor credits Verstappen’s tiny mistake being the real reason for him getting pipped by Sainz.

Discussing further, Windsor said, “We’ve seen from Max over the course of this series, whenever there is some sort of incident, whether it be Perez crashing at Zandvoort. Whether it be something else, whether it be Max making a mistake, he then tends to leave a little bit of margin because, well, why not? I mean, he’s walking away with the World Championship. Why does he need to take any more risks?”

Pointing at the incident in Q1 the ex-Ferrari boss said, “At that point in Q1, he just needs to get through to Q2. And then in Q3, on the absolute limit, would it have been in his mind perhaps to leave a little bit of margin through the second Lesmo? Maybe, maybe not. We’ll never know. Probably Max doesn’t even know. It’s just a little voice inside his head.”

READ MORE: “Same as Always With Perez”: Nico Rosberg Exposes Sergio’s Weakness by Ruthless Comparison With Max Verstappen

As Verstappen continues to secure his place among the top drivers in each race, Sergio Perez seems to be slipping, raising the question of whether Red Bull is providing him with inferior equipment.

Is Red Bull openly showing preference for Verstappen, potentially hurting Sergio Perez’s morale?

Despite starting the season on a seemingly level footing with the Dutchman, Perez at one point trailed Verstappen by just a single point. Unfortunately, a series of mistakes and bouts of bad luck have led to Perez finishing outside of Q3 in five consecutive qualifying sessions, allowing Max Verstappen to extend his lead significantly.

The gap between them now stands at 138 points, with Perez securing only four podium finishes this season. While Hamilton had recently highlighted the effective bias of Red Bull, following Toto Wolff’s favoritism comments, it’s now Peter Windsor who has provided clarity on the situation.

As per Planet F1, he said, “In my experience in Formula 1, there is no way a team would ever deliberately run a slower second car, they would always try to run the best two cars they possibly could because of the Constructors’ Championship.” While wrapping the conversation, he said, “Anyone who thinks that Perez has been given deliberately inferior equipment, in my opinion, doesn’t know anything at all about Formula 1.”

WATCH THIS STORY: Fans Expose Max Verstappen’s Bizarre Reaction to Fernando Alonso’s Cold-Blooded Warning to Teammate Sergio Perez

Given Carlos Sainz’s impressive performance, do you believe Max Verstappen will outperform him to achieve a historic victory at the Italian GP?