Verstappen blames his own mistake for Dutch GP crash
Max Verstappen's home Dutch Grand Prix ended already on the first lap after a heavy crash in the track's final corner. The driver admitted the error was his own, trying to speed up on a still-wet surface.
Four-time world champion Max Verstappen's home Grand Prix in the Netherlands ended on the very first lap after a serious crash. The Red Bull driver started from seventh place, having felt uncomfortable with the car's setup in earlier sessions, and was involved in tight battles in the opening corners with teammate Liam Lawson. Asked about that early fight, Verstappen said such racing between teammates is acceptable and normal.
The main drama unfolded at the track's final banked corner, where Verstappen lost control of his car on a still-damp surface and slammed heavily into the concrete barrier. The impact was serious enough that race control brought out red flags. Afterwards, Verstappen explained that the track was still fairly wet at that point, and upon spotting a drier patch he decided to push harder — a move that turned out to be premature.
A poor weekend for the team
Verstappen's crash and the team's overall weak result marked Red Bull's worst race weekend since the April break. The only bright spot for the team came from Lawson, standing in for the injured Isack Hadjar, who scored points with a seventh-place finish.
Verstappen said the team's overall pace this weekend had not been enough to fight McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes, though he added that this came as no surprise to him. He noted that Red Bull is currently the fourth-fastest team, and that rival teams have kept developing their cars this season while his own has not kept pace, making an already difficult chasing position even harder.
