Max Verstappen crashed out of the Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix after changeable weather at Zandvoort led to a massive shunt for the Red Bull driver.
The Dutchman came into the 72-lap race at Zandvoort, ready to compete in what would have been his final home race.
That said, the afternoon unravelled at the start when, heading into the final banked corner, Verstappen took onto a wet patch on the drying track and careered towards the barriers.
“I got caught out, it was still quite wet in that corner,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“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.”
Verstappen revealed that while the impact was massive, it was below the threshold for him to be obligated to visit the medical centre.
“I just asked, can I not go to the medical centre, and they were like, it’s still below the threshold,” he explained.
It would have been a bitterly disappointing end for Verstappen. Since the circuit’s arrival on the F1 calendar in 2021, the Red Bull driver had finished on the podium on every occasion.
But while Verstappen knew that a podium on Sunday would have been a long shot, he was disappointed in the end way his afternoon ended.
“Well, I think overall we had a disappointing weekend, pace-wise,” Verstappen added.
“We just couldn’t really fight with the guys ahead, so that’s probably the most disappointing part, but of course I wish that we could have done a little bit more in the race, but looking at the pace that we are showing, I don’t think that was really possible anyway.”
Max Verstappen outlines Red Bull goals ahead of F1 Italian GP
12 rounds into 2026, Verstappen currently sits sixth in the drivers’ standings and realistically out of the title fight.
Heading into the race weekend at the Temple of Speed in two weeks, Verstappen isn’t counting on any “miracles”.
“We are the fourth-fastest team, so it’s not like walking up to Zandvoort and suddenly we can do some magic things,” he contended.
“It’s just how it is, how the teams have grown, how great, but when you’re already on the back foot, it’s even more on the back foot. So it’s nothing surprising, it’s just the reality that we live in.”
Verstappen wasn’t in the best of health, too, this weekend. Therefore, he is looking forward to the week-long break before F1 returns to Italy.
“Yeah, it’s just not been feeling well. I’m just looking forward to a week break where I can just recover also, because I really didn’t feel good. I wish for more, but you need to be realistic this season,” he concluded.
“Yeah, hopefully in Monza we can be a little bit more competitive.”
While Verstappen is set to return to racing action, at Monza, the second Red Bull seat could still go to either Liam Lawson or Isack Hadjar, depending on the latter’s recovery.
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