WATCH Red Bull’s F1 drivers take a Dutch road trip

Aston Martin Red Bull’s Formula 1 drivers took a road trip around the Netherlands this year to celebrate the first Dutch Grand Prix in 35 years.

An eagerly-anticipated return to a revamped Zandvoort circuit was set to take place last weekend, but the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic forced the postponement of the event, much to the disappointment of home hero Max Verstappen and his entourage of ‘Orange Army’ followers.

To celebrate Verstappen’s homeland, Red Bull has released full footage of the trip around some of the Netherland’s most iconic locations, including the cobbled streets of The Hague and wind mills along the Dutch countryside, before ending up at Zandvoort via a beach race. 

Verstappen and teammate Alex Albon each got behind the wheel of Red Bull’s title-winning machine, the dominant RB7, which won 12 of the 19 races held in the 2011 season for a high-speed thrill ride around Holland.

“If we can’t race, then I think it’s great to put something out there for our fans,” Verstappen said.

“The idea for this content came from Red Bull and it’s very cool to show everyone a bit of Holland with this Dutch Road Trip.

“I think it’s very special and Red Bull are the only ones doing this kind of thing. Normally you only see F1 cars on a race track but we do crazy stuff on snow, on the beach.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for people to see this in front of their homes. Plus, I got to do some laps of the new Zandvoort Circuit, so very happy with that!

“Of course, we are very much looking forward to going racing again once it is safe, that’s what we all want,” he added.

“We were all very much looking forward to having a home Grand Prix in the Netherlands but hopefully later in the year or whenever it’s possible to race again we can get that started. In the meantime, I hope everyone enjoys this film.”

The trip was filmed in a total of 10 locations, representing a huge technical challenge involving camera cars, drones, helmet cams and road closures across the country.

“A Formula 1 car is not designed to drive slowly and even at 90 kph, which is the top speed of the truck the boys encounter, it still struggles,” Red Bull support team coordinator, Mark Willis, explained.

“Being in first gear all the time is not good for the car, the engine’s too hot and we can come across problems.

“These cars are designed to race Grands Prix and what we put them through is not what they were made to do.”

You can watch the full video below…