Making mistakes may be uncharacteristic of Max Verstappen, but that’s exactly what the four-time world champion did on the first lap of his home Formula 1 race.
Starting the Dutch Grand Prix from seventh on the grid after feeling unwell all weekend, Verstappen took a decent getaway but found himself squeezed on the grass in a four-wide moment on the run to Turn 1. He was consequently challenged by Red Bull stand-in Liam Lawson in the following corners – which he didn’t mind: “We are allowed to race, so I think that’s normal.”
Verstappen eventually held on to that seventh position, but a rain shower which occurred some 50 minutes before the start had dampened the track, and two drivers lost control in the banked final corner on lap one.
While Gabriel Bortoleto escaped from a 360-degree pirouette unscathed, Red Bull’s superstar couldn’t catch the RB22 and suffered a substantial crash, which caused a red flag.
“I think the start is just a consequence of what is happening on the right. It’s OK, it can happen,” Verstappen commented regarding about the incident at lights out.
“Then, yeah, I got caught out. It was still quite wet in that corner, and as soon as I saw the dry patch coming, I was like, ‘Now you can accelerate’, but clearly that didn’t work. So probably it was still a bit too early.”
Max Verstappen, Red Bull
Photo by: Eric Le Galliot
Verstappen described the impact as “a decent hit” but clarified he’d “had worse”.
Red Bull eventually endured its worst grand prix since the April break results-wise, with Lawson its top car in seventh.
Verstappen did admit to “a disappointing weekend” in terms of pace as McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes were out of reach, but this situation was no surprise to him.
“I wish for more, but you need to be realistic this season,” the Red Bull racer insisted. “We are the fourth-fastest team, so it’s not like walking up to Zandvoort and suddenly we can do some magic things.
“It’s just how it is, other teams have brought upgrades, we haven’t. When you’re already on the back foot, it puts you even more on the back foot. So, there’s nothing surprising, it’s just the reality that we live in.”
So Verstappen will now focus on resting ahead of the Italian Grand Prix, two weeks from now: “I’ve just not been feeling well. I’m just looking forward to a break where I can just recover also, because I really didn’t feel good.”
We want to hear from you!
Let us know what you would like to see from us in the future.
Take our survey
– The Autosport.com Team
Read the full article here