What made Max Verstappen's first lap overtake of Carlos Sainz in Barcelona 'stunning'? F1 pundit explains

F1 pundit Peter Windsor stated that Max Verstappen's first-lap overtake of Carlos Sainz, despite being on harder tires, was stunning.

The Red Bull driver had a dominant weekend at the Spanish GP last week as he notched up the third Grand Slam of his career. The only time that he was challenged was at the start of the race when Carlos Sainz went wheel-to-wheel with him going into Turn 1.

Verstappen was able to hold off the challenge and displayed excellent car control while defending from the Ferrari driver. On his Live Stream for his YouTube channel, Windsor explained:

"Max's choice was starting on medium tire off the line in Barcelona, knowing pretty well that everyone else will be on the soft. And how he approached the first corner...I said at the time, 'He was crowded by Carlos Sainz', which was inevitable in a way as Carlos was on the soft tire and Ferrari is always mays making good starts."

Windsor added:

"But what I failed to say which I am going to say now is that what was absolutely stunning in that first corner was how Max didn't lock up or had any problem at all under braking. Even though he is that to his game when he knew where to brake, at the appropriate moment, given the feel he was getting from the track even at that point, knowing that he was going to be braking much earlier than Sainz."

Max Verstappen analyzes his start at the 2023 Spanish GP

The double world champion claimed that he was aware that he was at a disadvantage starting on the harder tires and going into Turn 1 was always going to be difficult.

In his post-race press conference, Verstappen said:

"I think it was important to try to keep the lead in Turn 1. I know it's quite tight. But actually, we had a very good start. And then from there onwards I just tried to manage the pace on the Medium. I knew everyone behind me mainly was on a Soft, and I think especially in those last eight laps of that stint I could really create a big gap."

He added:

"And then, of course, we went onto the Hard tire. And I actually expected them to be a little bit better. But somehow, they just didn't have a lot of grip and I was actually sliding around quite a bit."

Max Verstappen's performance in Barcelona was an indicator to the rest of the grid of his dominance this season, having won five out of the seven races held so far.