Peter Windsor: "It's a SAD State of Affairs at Mercedes!" 

For my own part, I didn’t cancel the F1TV subscription because of Max’s dominance. I canceled it as an Andretti protest.

I have been watching F1 for over 30 years and I think today’s F1 coverage is more in depth than ever! On F1TV, you can watch the technical coverage, clarification of rules, and Palmer driving analysis. Those weren’t even a thing years ago. Yes I agree that scoring commercial sponsorship and engineering challenges deserve a big segment in Drive to Survive show. I think F1 has a lot of content to watch nowadays. To me, F1 is unique because it isn’t just an athlete challenge but it is an even bigger engineering challenge.

Case in point, I’m one of those who Cameron speaks about. I’ve followed F1 religiously since the age of five, I’m now 62, and I stopped watching F1 about six years ago and long before that I caught myself falling asleep more often than not watching F1. These days, I’m perfectly fine listening to Peter or some podcast summing up the races. And God knows I’ve been as much a fan one could be, to the point that I ran a podcast, had Sweden’s largest website on F1 and racing in general and been working in the motorsport business for the last twenty years. I may not fall under the category of the Drive to Survive crowd but rather the “had enough of waiting for a great season, you won’t fool me again”-crowd. F1 today may very well be the consequence of what once made it great and it’s very hard to see how to change the evolution of the sport. It may have to die to resurrect itself. Organic change is often better than artificially induced changes that will only fool the crowd for so long.

You hit the nail on the head Cameron. I now consume F1 races through the short RU-vid highlights on either Sky F1 or Formula 1 channels, Peter Windsor's race analysis and Missed Apex race review. In between I rely on you for comment and the aforementioned PW and MA channels. It gives me what I need in a time effective way whilst avoiding the infantile content like 'watch a driver bake a cake' nonsense pumped out by Sky... works for me 😁

You hit the nail on the head with how most fans are going to want to consume F1 now. I listened to this whole video, not a car in sight and enjoyed it more than all the F1 coverage I saw at the weekend. Liberty chasing the super casual masses at the expense of the long timers will hurt them in the future. As for what needs changing… smaller cars should be the number 1 priority. These new tanks are very impressive on a quali lap but the racing has suffered massively

Refueling ban/car weight is the reason for me. An F1 race should be a few sprints, not a marathon. Managing the tire is a JOKE!!!

Why is Russell being given special treatment? In Japan, thank to Russell's incompetence, he broke F1 & FIA rules by dangerously lounging into a corner, denying Piastri enough space to take the turn & then deliberately knocked Piastri 'off track' in order to damage his worn tires. In Melbourne, Russell's incompetence caused a major crash as he ignored Alonzo's different line of approach & then barrelling 'full tilt' into the track's most dangerous turn, losing control in a way that could have become a deadly mistake if Stroll hit him. In both cases, the F1 & FIA decided to ignore Russell's driving incompetence and did not punish him for his incompetence 'on track'.

A MAJOR Mistake letting Sainz Go!!

Great point from Peter regarding George. George can only see what's right in front of him instead of playing the long game. This is incredibly important given how bad this car is, you NEED to be more tactical.

As always, Peter Windsor sticks to the best aspects of F1: the technology, the teamwork, the track talent, the driving, (not the drama/soap opera nonsense.)

I find I listen to/watch podcasts more than I watch F1 nowadays and when I do watch it’s only the actual race, no before or after show, no podium or interviews, no FP or anything else. I prefer it that way now and it’s the only way I can continue to engage with the sport. Great video, neither of you ever let me down.

What you said about skipping to peters video is exactly what ive been doing recently! I dont like paying for the subscription all the time so recently ive not even been watching the gp, only highlights then going to peters video😂😂

The 3-4 RU-vid podcasts I watch the week after a Grand Prix is my favorite part of F1

Mercedes can't work with a budgetcap. So sad.

CAM you hit the nail on the head about what people are going to start doing instead of watching the race. I know for a fact I have not watched one race this year. I just wait for your recap with the fellas or your talks with Peter. Peter talks history, technology, and strategy. All of which are what I and many others are interested in for sure. Great point and as always great segment!

Cameron is absolutely right. I'm a Max fan but I don't care to catch the race and am happy to watch the F1 official highlights and then watch/listen to sir Peter Windsor later.

I love charles. He's a gentleman with a conscience.

What I am seeing is a major flaw in tactical strategy that's now exposed at Mercedes. It has been buried by eight years of dominance and when finally pressed, there is a rock head...

As a F1 fan since '94, I absolutely love the downfall of Mercedes and especially Toto. I really wonder what they're smoking over at Stuttgart, because Toto should've been fired already. After 3 years of Toto's complete incompetence to keep a framework in place where his key technical people can thrive, his sacking is long overdue.

when you understand and love every aspect of F1, you can watch and enjoy race without single overtake

As an F1 fan since the 90s, I've always wanted to see more about the technology of F1 cars.

Mercedes feeling the effects the of budget limit. Remember Mercedes has the largest number of workers during the dominant years and this is most likely penalizing their ability to progress.

You are spot on Cameron, these days I get more value listening to you and other subject matter experts like Peter Windsor to gain more excitements from an F1 weekend, it is just the sad reality.

Wow!, I can't believe the lack of trust there is towards the only driver who has achieved more podiums than all those who receive support and respect in F1 of this era combined. It's a shame

I don't understand why people crtisize Pirelli for the tyres. Aren't they built based on the FIA specifications?

Good point Cameron! I haven't watched the last two GP, tired of Max's ongoing domination... but I tune in for your feedback.

Appealing to casuals is a global epidemic. Find people with a mild interest in your product. Figure out what they might spend a few dollars on. Change to that. Ignore the users/fans who loved what you were. You've already got their money. Profit. Short-term thinking with short-term results.

It's beyond sad. At this point it's unacceptable. They've had 3 seasons to improve this car & and have made zero progress. It's time to move on from some, if not rmuch of the leadership of the team. With those resources?? Entirely unacceptable. No more excuses

Carlos is in the form of his life rn. If only he would've been in that sort of form in previous years too then I'm sure Ferrari wouldn't have let him go. But it kind of seems to me that he's pushing so hard now because he wants to impress other teams. Granted he started driving really well already in the middle of last season but this kind of red hot form has emerged only after it became clear that Ferrari won't be extending his contract.

I think Turbo Era for MB Car didn't Need that Ground Effect so Much Cam... But 2022 Forward Changes need Ground effect More AN made sure RB20 has the same Ground effect in every track.....

When your seat is in danger, or gone, you get really motivated either by fear or by “I’ll show you what you’ve lost”.

I don’t understand the need to double down on someone’s lack of success and call it “sad”. Let’s all be honest here. Are we all slaying it in our own careers every single day? How would we feel if people would call our state of affairs sad when we had our bad days? I would highly appreciate if a certain degree of emotional intelligence is being applied by the “experts” and content creators when making videos.

Wait. Fernando Alonso had an advantage because he returned to a potentially championship winning team as opposed to Lewis. Really?! Alpine better championship winning team over Ferrari even back then!!??

These two are great together - Cameron you're so eloquent, and dare I say poetic in your questions and thoughts. Calm, thoughtful...and Peter of course is the GOAT.

Why is Ruaselll so highly regarded? Strangely that is only by British people..

Sprint race format doesnt suite these cars.. and i get it..these tyres are to make it more unpredictable..but not just the tyres kills today's f1 dna...its the gear box..the weight..the tracks!.. And they even talking no tyre warmes...who are these people making such decisions? Almost what disney did to star wars..milking till theres nothing left and we have to like hear stories like the Horner affair for weeks instead of racing!

Great to see Peter is delivering the Truth & articullate the details without bias. Many F1 fans including the interviewer can learn how to enjoy F1 even though your Driver isn't hitting top. loved the content. keep the good work up!

Just remember that Carlos was not doing well for. The last 2 session's

What is bad about F1 is Lewis is not winning. When Lewis was winning F1 was given a full bill of health, the world was in order and everything was right. Now he has adversity and F1 is in crisis. Lewis cannot win when in a competitive F1. Lewis has been a contender with the best car from 2014 - 2021. Notice how 2016 and 2021 during this period are considered bad years by these British experts yet Lewis had the best car. F1 is not broken because Lewis does not have a competitive car, it is because he is not winning and the people who beat him are called fake champions. Peter as a die hard Lewis fan emailed Toto regarding a brilliant engineer, I wonder if he extended that same curtesy to Hass, Alpine or any other team or is he only looking to help Lewis. I suspect Ferrari will be getting his emails next year. At a minimum Lewis should be beating his team mate and he is not even doing that.

I saw a comment on RU-vid that Mercedes problem might be with the CEO, Ola Kallenius, he isn't fully interested in F1. He knows F1 is profitable and can't end the F1 team because Mercedes, Toto and Ineos has shares in it. Kallenius also thought Toto had to much power in F1 and Toto and himself don't get on. With Kallenius not being fully supportive of the F1 team, it is making it harder for Toto to hire the right personnel. Looking at Ola online it seems like he wants to get into the EV side of motosport and there seems to have been rumours a few years back that Mercedes will stop being a fullworks team. So Mercedes have bigger problems than just rear end instability, they need a new CEO who is fully interested in F1. No team will be in form when the CEO of the parent company is not committed to F1. I would say Toto needs our support and understanding, not criticism. If 2021 never ended the way it did, Lewis probably would have stayed with Mercedes but he has an axe to grind.

Ive never heard someone say "Peter" so many times within such a short amount of time.

Cameron, ive been an F1 fan for 30+ years but since '21 i've stopped watching. I now just catch up via the highlights and race reviews by Peter, yourself and a couple of other notable RU-vidrs. What you said to Peter, literally sums up the way i now follow F1, its far more informative and i can consume it whilst i work and enjoy my weekends.

This delusion should come to the end. Have one tyre compound to save cash for all of the year. Have mandatory three pit stop races. clearly morocco would actually be a race not an embarrassment to F1.

I think Saintz management isn't waiting for Max to make the first move but Alonso. If he retires then AM would be the perfect place for Carlos, especially with the Honda partnership coming soon. It just sucks that there are dead end drivers taking up seats in the sport which would otherwise be filled with great talent. - Williams should axe Longan and put in Kimi with Mercedes paying for his drive. - VCARB if Ricciardo doesn't improve should axe him and put in Liam Lawson. - AM should have sacked Stroll ages ago but since Daddy Stroll owns the team that isn't going to happen but seeing Carlos and Fernando in an AM would have been amazing.

Gossip and glamour have always been part of the sport.

!!! Loved the subtle symphonic touch with the strings. Emotional, stylish way to add emphasis. Sick!

It is always good to see these two guys having chat

I skipped the race and watched the highlights and now I’m tuning into Peter Windsor… It looks to be my new thing.

For me it’s so amazing to see what level especially Max is operating at. For me it’s great to see virtuosity and his name is Max. We saw 8 years of Mercedes dominance and I admit max is on another level- but so were Mercedes for a long time. Why have Carlos not done that before. Perhaps it’s because he’s not under pressure. Is he driving like he’s a free agent. I don’t know- but it’s like a burden is taken away from his shoulders

I’m still a fan of LH but, but the move is only right for Lewis I don’t see him bettering what Carlos is delivering today. I just see it as a cosmetic end to his career.

Since 2009, we have had only one single season (2021) where the constructor's championship went down to the wire. Before that it was kind of a on/off thing with the constructor title either clinched quite early or being decided at the final race with somewhat equal frequency. Now nowhere cares about the constructor's championship. But consider this: the only certain way to keep an F1 season exciting until the end or somewhere near the final race under the current regulations is if you have 2 world class drivers dueling each other in the best car. Mercedes last did that when they had Rosberg and Hamilton as team mates. Now the reason why there is this tendency for one team to dominate each year is in my opinion because there is virtually no testing allowed. Whatever is the gap at the first race of the year, this performance advantage/deficit is locked in not only for the duration of the season, but in reality year over year. Recall for example the 1998 season, when McLaren Mercedes with Hakkinen and Coulthard absolutely crushed the competition at the opening race. They were so much faster than everyone else that they lapped pretty much every other car. But! Ferrari had a car with potential. And with an insane amount of car development, essentially a second pair of drivers working 24/7 at Mugello and Fiorano, and of course with the FIA banning some of the features of that McLaren, Ferrari was able to close the gap by the end of the season, making for one hell of a fight between Hakkinen and Schumacher. Impossible today!

'...any rule, any change...based on what we think the fans want to me is something to stay away from because maybe you are going down a path which is not good for the sport and isn't pure for the sport...' Please make Pete Commissioner of the NBA, and do it NOW.

I believe lewis has already checked out..I know people say that he is a professional and all that but he looks so disinterested, especially after 3 years of crap he just wants the season to be over so he can start fresh..

Carlos has always seemed like the better driver to me js

As a ferrari fan i want carlos sainz to stay. He is entering into his peak performance era and ferrari decided to let him go.

Has anyone undertaken an overtake on a leading Red Bull car successfully in the last few years? NO. That says it all about the state of F1 today. Mercedes is going to be the new Williams the way things are going there. Either the powers that be do something to make F1 a competition instead of a procession or the sport is doomed.

I don’t watch qualifying and sprint races and instead watch Peter’s analysis instead. But I do watch the race completely (and of course Peter’s analysis). They can put in what they want on the other 2 days, I don’t have time to watch that

PW at 38 minutes. LH may be implying/saying that indeed, it makes sense. Merc made their own bed ,so lie in it. Not knowledgeable but its a good take.

You laughed Peter, but I no longer watch races. I listed on radio and look at the live timing data. Then follow up with analysis from channels like yours and Cameron. It's evident that if a car is much quicker, they catch another car and sector times barely change, drivers are just being let past.

If Charles can't beat Carlos, it won't be pretty when Ham arrives.

The DTS generation it’s a minimal number of the fans. They might be new fans but are not the core of F1. I miss detail information about speed for example. There isn’t any graphic about the avg speed in that lap or the pole.

Let all the George fans tell it.. He’s better than SLH.. he’s blowing Lewis away and Blah Blah Blah alone with all the other nonsense that’s being spewed.

I feel Charles is getting in his own head a bit, and Carlos has nothing to lose, so he is letting it all hang out and living for the moment. When you are supposed to be the better driver and at the moment it doesn't look like that, you can overthink a bit.

@24:40 +/- you make an intriguing point, Cam, well said, and i'm nearly at that point myself, not having livestream f1. Big hassle to go out to a bar or restuarant. Peter wld be a perfect presenter for a more technical, in depth, netflix type series. They shld make him an offer. Subject, naturally, to his absolute script and editorial control.

always love your hour with Peter Windsor, always some insights to be had.

@28:10 I think PW is completely right. The coverage carries no knowledge, is very poor and meaningless. F1 is complicated sport, and even the race alone has many layers. Totally ignored. It adds to my own experiences, the coverage is meant for the fanboys, the ones interested because at the moment it's a hype, not for F1 Sport fans. Why? Mere commerce. It's killing.👴🤑😒🤷‍♂

Brilliant content. Enjoyed listening to Peter for years.

If there is one driver who will be fine next to Max it will be Carlos, just look how is performing next to Leclerc. The guy is mentally very strong and already dealt with Max in the past and was almost on par with him.

Cameron nailed it. I miss the GPs but never miss Peter’s takes on them. I’ll go back and watch the races after.

I enjoy your commentary Peter. Also, I enjoy the tone of your voice. It allows me to watch your entire show.

Best way to improve F1:- Ban DRS. push to pass is boring, drs passes are dull. Go back to proper passing and defending.

Cameron, this is the first video I see of you. What a delight. Such a pleasant voice and very easy to follow as a non-native speaker. Great stuff, sir! ❤

Carlos is the son of a racer, and Charles will not dominate Carlos come end of season Peter.

28:10 For Mercedes ... good stuff throughout though

Who suggested keeping Sainz behind Leclerc? You’re just making sh1t up.

The change to Redbull Powertrains in 2026 may see change in order... New regulations may shift favour to other teams...

" They have all the data. And they obviously aren't doing anything good with it!" That was an AMAZING low key burn.

Hey when you both started to about HUDS I am shocked. You need a reflective screen to achieve this. Are you both suggesting they should fit glass/plastic under the halo. Bit unsafe isn't it or you think the cars will look like indie 500 cars?

One of the most honest commentators you’ll find. Very fair and balanced. Great convo gents!

Toto is a businessman craving the limelight so he tried to cosplay Ross Brawn.

if you want to see drivers that go flat out, and see pit stops, make it mandatory to run all 3 tyre compounds. and tyres that have longer life.

For all the great tech that goes into the simulators etc, there is still no better place for a team to develop a car and a driver to develop their skill in driving it, than on a track. I understand the cost curbing argument but when a team is saddled with a poor car at the start of the season, all they can really do now is fiddle about a bit with it, rather than get some hard miles in testing and sort things out. I don't expect to go back to no test limits, but at least open it up so that a team has a chance to do some proper testing during the season.

All it would take is one good race by stroll and tsunoda, and they would push hamilton out of the top 10 in season points bcoz they are seperated by 2 points.

In response to the point about the position swap that Peter mentioned at very start at the video. It was very obvious George had better race pace than Lewis at Suzuka. If not at least at the start. Lewis knew there was no point keeping George behind if he was faster. It made perfect sense to swap the cars around which is why Lewis agreed to it.

What a wonderful conversation. Knowledge, respect , good judgment and some sort of harmony between the two. Love this amazing human beings: Peter and Cameron!

Regarding the director.... Man, do I hate it when they decide to focus on a driver's partner or fans during crucial moments.

What we’re learning is that without the perfect car, Lewis is a mid pack driver.

I think i get what you are saying about Peter Windsor and the review of a race i watch them all and they are always time well spend. But i think the problem is not Max dominating because in all sports there are dominating players, but it is PW can convey why max is dominating, how he is doing it and with whom and what does that mean! The same goes for when Lewis was dominating PW just gets in to the technical aspect, the mind with great respect for the sport and drivers. The national broadcasts (Sky Sports, Via play and F1 TV on English) are just bad so biased. You can hear it the can't explain why somebody is great so the just comment on overtakes and mistakes and populist remarks towards drivers which they can use later on in interviews instead of letting drivers explain and engage. They push narratives and i am tired of it.

@35:12 You're right, but I think the root cause lies even further back. They never really understood the aerodynamics needed for an F1 car. That was not required for they had the most powerful engine by far, and two bits. After all they won every race uncontested, no matter who was driving!👴🤷‍♂ The worst mistake they made was not bothering getting up to speed with the current aerodynamics.👴🤯 In the mean time most of the other teams closed the engine performance gap, and went beyond by a hefty margin while extending the aero possibilities.👴😁🤗 Until today M. still have no clue and doesn't understand the aero. Their arrogance was fed by their advantage and held them back on the same spot for years and years. That is why now they are just a mediocre team. They still are as loud and arrogant as they were in their winning days though... nothing learned there as well!👴🤨🤯🤷‍♂ So, minimise attention to them, thoroughly scrutinise every comment, and when in doubt: scratch and scrap!👴🤷‍♂ (BTW: It's mind-blowing how they think of having any chance of signing any good performing driver now. The other way around: It's inconceivable to expect from any good performing driver to even remotely consider them.👴🤯)

Love this discussion; calm, rational critical thinking, giving me insights, confirming other ideas. And both Peter and Cameron have great voices, especially Cameron - close mike technique. I'm subscribing.

John Elkann was apparently the one who wanted Hamilton, not necessarily the race team. I dare say that if left to the race team and Fred, they would have waited to see how the season played out and probably kept their partnership the same for the next season or two. If I was Elkann, I think I'd be concerned at seeing a 7 time WC displaying such poor motivation and leadership in a time of adversity when for the money he is paid, he should be standing up tall and driving the situation to keep moral high.

What did you think about the Japanese 'F1 Post Race Pres Conference'. Personally, we think it was possibly one of the most informative 'F1 Post Race Pres Conference' ever broadcast.

@44:50 Yes, there has been extensive response to it. Still, I can't shake the thought that GR publicly stated what he really did, not to the stewards, not to the press, but long after the appeal window had closed. Quite GR-ish, unsportsmanlike and weaselly, isn't it?👴🧐🤨

Sorry Peter, it will not come back to Charles. It saddens me to come to this conclusion but I observed him quite closely and noticed that he must have a built-in uncertainty that only grew over the years. He also developed his driving skills but that does not weight up to his fear of failure. In the end Charles is Leclerc’s biggest enemy.

I do that, skip the weekend and watch Peter.

I believe the best way to close up the grid is stable regs. Other teams are definitely catching Redbull they just won’t have enough time to do it in these regs. Possibly in 2025 someone could catch up. But when we switch regs the FIA should monitor if any teams get a massive head start, then only let those regs run for 4-5 years. But if we ever get a reg switch and say 2-4 teams are very close, then they should try to keep those regs stable for a longer period say maybe 7-8 years.

24:45 I’m already exactly there, for the races in certain time zones anyway

All Mercedes have to do is run a bad season and fall down the order in constructors. Get time in wind tunnel and sort out the airo for next year. Maybe the car will be upgraded and sorted by the closing stages of season.

F1 is always about innovation and because of that you'll see dominance.... Unless you do away with that and start spec cars where every cars are equal. Until then, the dominance will continue... I'm ok with it, there's still strong fight at the midfields.... Peter is a truer F1 fan, never once I hear him complain about F1 being boring....

I soooo agree with Peter re the overdoing when the drivers are on different tyres (age and/or colour) - it's not real overtakes/passes. It brings a lot of joy to Matt & Tommy, but it's not real overtakes for me At least DRS is trying to offset the loss in aerodynamic performance due to being behind a car.