– This was not how Dutch fans had imagined the last Formula 1 Grand Prix in Zandvoort (follow live here in the ticker): Not even one lap had been completed when the race for local hero Max Verstappen was already over. The Dutchman crashed quite hard in the final corner but was able to get out uninjured.
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Before the race, rain had made parts of the track wet. Nevertheless, all drivers were on slicks and managed well through the first part of the lap. However, in the last steep corner, Verstappen went a bit too far down and probably onto a wet part of the track, causing him to lose control of his rear.
The Red Bull turned left and hit the track barrier almost head-on. “I was just surprised,” Verstappen admits. “This corner was still quite wet, and as soon as I saw the dry spot coming, I thought, ‘Now you can go on the gas.’ But obviously, that didn’t work. So it was probably just a bit too early.”
When asked if he could have saved the car with forced energy reduction in the wet, he waves it off: “I don’t know, probably not. I think we just lack grip or balance compared to some of the other guys,” says the Dutchman. “It is what it is. It would have been the same in the wet.”
Three tricky scenes in one lap
Fortunately, the rest of the field was able to avoid the crash and did not hit the spinning Dutchman. Further back in the field, only Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) spun at the same spot but, unlike Verstappen, did not crash.
The race was stopped with a red flag and resumed after about a half-hour break.
Verstappen’s entire first lap was turbulent. Already at the start, the four-time world champion was slightly pushed onto the grass in a chain reaction because both Ferraris ahead of him had avoided Oscar Piastri, and Verstappen was the one caught on the outside.
“The start was just a consequence of what happened on the right side. That’s okay, these things happen,” he views this scene calmly – just like the subsequent slight collision with teammate Liam Lawson in the first steep corner, when the New Zealander aggressively tried to pass Verstappen on the outside.
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“I mean, we are allowed to race each other. So I find that completely normal,” he also sees no problem in that.
Disappointing weekend with physical problems
The accident then ended Verstappen’s bad weekend in Zandvoort, where he had already felt physically unwell from the start. “I think overall we had a disappointing weekend in terms of pace,” he summarizes. “We just couldn’t really fight with the guys at the front, which is probably the most disappointing part.”
“But sure, I would have wished that we could have done a bit more in the race. But looking at the pace we showed, I don’t think that would have been possible at all,” says the Dutchman.
“But yes, I still would have liked to race, to keep trying and show a good performance. Well, hopefully we can be a bit more competitive again in Monza.”
For now, he is looking forward to a week off to recover, “because I really wasn’t feeling well,” as he says. “I would have wished for more, but you have to be realistic this season. We are the fourth fastest team, so it’s not like you arrive in Zandvoort and suddenly can work magic.”
“It is just how it is. Other teams brought upgrades, we didn’t. If you’re already behind, that sets you back even further. So there are no surprises, that’s just the reality we live in.”
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