Max Verstappen reveals what caused his scary Dutch GP crash
Max Verstappen reacts to his race-ending Dutch Grand Prix crash.
Max Verstappen has explained what caused his race-ending Formula 1 crash at the Dutch Grand Prix.
Four-time world champion Verstappen’s final home race at Zandvoort lasted just a single lap before he dramatically crashed out in damp conditions caused by a rain shower that hit the track before the start.
Verstappen dropped his Red Bull on the kerb and slammed violently into the barriers on the outside of the banked final corner. The Dutchman was sent spinning back into the path of oncoming traffic, but thankfully avoided being collected by those behind.
Explaining what happened after the race, Verstappen admitted to being caught out by the conditions and making a rare driver error.
“It was of course still quite wet in that corner. But as soon as I was going through the corner, at one point I could see a little bit of a dry line coming,” Verstappen told Sky Sports F1.
“I thought from this point on I could accelerate again, but suddenly then acerbated a lot and it caught me out. Simple as that.
“Tried to correct it, but I couldn't. And then of course, you hit the wall, but it honestly could have been a lot worse because there were a lot of cars behind me as well. But luckily that all went well.”
Verstappen started the Dutch Grand Prix from seventh on the grid after battling illness all weekend. He was squeezed onto the grass by Lewis Hamilton at the start and had to fend off stand-in team-mate Liam Lawson on an already dramatic opening lap before his accident.
Having committed his long-term future to Red Bull, Verstappen suggested the team will soon turn attention towards next season after rivals McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari proved out of reach at Zandvoort.
“If you look on average at the whole season, we have been fourth fastest, so I think this weekend really highlighted that,” he added.
“So definitely we're a little bit behind. We want to, of course, be closer. Maybe Monza we will be, but I I don't know. You know, we're getting towards the end of the season. You also have to look at next year.
“I think there are a few things in the car that we are looking at that can only be changed next year to really find a lot more performance. So we'll just try to maximise everything we can with this car.
“But, of course, it's not going to be the most straightforward end to the season. But we'll try to do the best we can.”
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