Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing): “I’ve been through worse”

For local hero Max Verstappen, what may have been his last home Grand Prix came to an end sooner than he’d hoped: the Red Bull Racing driver crashed in the final corner during the early stages of the race at Zandvoort. As it had rained before the race started, the track was still wet. Verstappen hit a damp patch, lost control of his car and crashed heavily into the barriers. The race was red-flagged for a good half an hour.

“I’ve been through worse”

After his crash, Max Verstappen bravely gave the all-clear: “It was quite a impact, but I’ve been through worse.” Verstappen couldn’t say after the race what G-force he’d experienced during the crash. He simply said: “I didn’t ask about it. I just asked if I needed to go to the medical centre, and they said it was still below the threshold.” The impact had therefore not triggered the sensors in the cockpit. In the event of more severe impacts, drivers are routinely taken to the medical centre at the circuit for a check-up.

Verstappen was unable to finish what is likely to be his last home race for the time being. Zandvoort is due to be dropped from the calendar after 2026, and a return is not currently on the cards. Verstappen on his Zandvoort weekend: “I think, overall, we had a disappointing weekend in terms of pace. We just couldn’t really keep up with the lads at the front; that’s probably the most disappointing thing about it. But of course I would have liked to have got a bit more out of the race, though when I look at the pace I’m showing here, I don’t think that would really have been possible anyway.”

Max Verstappen kam im Heim-GP nicht weit

Foto: Batchelor / XPB Images

The Dutchman: “I just didn’t feel well, so I’m looking forward to a week’s break where I can recover, because I really didn’t feel well.” There’s a week’s break from racing until the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. Verstappen: “I’d hoped for more, but you have to be realistic this season: we’re the fourth-fastest team, so it’s not as though we’ll turn up at Zandvoort and suddenly be able to pull off some kind of miracle. That’s just the way it is. Other teams have brought upgrades; we haven’t. When you’re already lagging behind, you fall even further behind. So it’s nothing surprising, just the reality we’re living in.”

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Verstappen watched the race after the crash

Max Verstappen had his crash early in the race (around 3.10 pm). However, he didn’t turn up for his media sessions until much later, shortly after half past four. Speaking to the Dutch TV channel Viaplay, he said: “I wanted to watch a bit of the race.” So even after that heavy crash, Max Verstappen is still Max Verstappen – utterly in love with racing.