Max Verstappen ‘surprise’ tipped with Red Bull ‘neck and neck’ with McLaren
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen is the reigning F1 world champion
Max Verstappen could overcome the odds to win the Dutch Grand Prix with Red Bull “on a par” with the McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.
That is the claim of Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko, who is backing Verstappen to collect a fourth win in five years at Zandvoort.
Will Max Verstappen upset McLaren to claim a fourth Dutch Grand Prix victory?
Additional reporting by Thomas Maher
Verstappen will start his home race from third on the grid after an impressive turnaround by Red Bull.
The reigning four-time World Champion was classified no higher than fifth across the three practice sessions at the Dutch Grand Prix, but managed to close the gap to just 0.263 seconds at the end of qualifying.
Verstappen briefly found himself in jeopardy after the FIA launched a post-session investigation for driving unnecessarily slowly. However, the FIA saw no grounds for further action.
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Verstappen has been beaten only once since the Dutch Grand Prix returned to the calendar in 2021, winning at Zandvoort for three successive years before Norris took victory in the 2024 race.
Marko has expressed delight with Verstappen’s “great” qualifying performance at Zandvoort, claiming that the Dutchman is well placed to spring “a surprise” in front of his home fans on Sunday.
He told Sky Germany: “This morning we were still eight tenths behind and now we’ve only lost sector 1, otherwise we’d be neck and neck.
“I believe what we did [to improve the car] will also work tomorrow, because Max knows how and where he can or must drive fast.
“We were on a par with McLaren, especially on used tyres, so maybe there will be a surprise.”
Verstappen will be joined on the second row of the grid by Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar, who secured his best qualifying result to date by posting the fourth-fastest time.
The French-Algerian’s career-best starting spot comes despite him failing to record a time in Friday’s FP2 session at Zandvoort due to an engine problem.
Marko was left impressed by Hadjar’s response to the setback on Friday, adding: “Hadjar never ceases to amaze.
“Hadjar had problems with the power unit twice yesterday, but he put that behind him and when it matters, he delivers.”
More on Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing from PlanetF1.com
Speaking to media including PlanetF1.com in the post-qualifying press conference at Zandvoort, Verstappen declared himself pleased with third on the grid after a challenging start to the weekend.
He said: “So far this weekend, we’ve been struggling for grip and general balance.
“And luckily in qualifying, it was the best that I’ve felt all weekend and that’s, of course, what you like.
“It all just felt a bit more normal, bit more together.
“Still not, of course, on the level of McLaren, but at least to be P3, I guess, is very good for us.
“So we did the right things in terms of setup direction, so I’m very happy with that.
“And it just made it also a bit more fun to get to push to the limit around here, which is an incredible layout.”
Asked what he changed overnight to put the RB21 car in a better window, he said: “Changed a lot.
“Even this morning [FP3], it was still not good so then we changed other bits again and that made it feel a bit better.
“But it’s still quite tricky with the wind. It’s been very windy today and some corners you’ve been guided by what the wind is doing.
“The car is pushing or sliding and I guess there we’re not the strongest at the moment. But still, it was not bad.”
On the car’s race pace, Verstappen added: “It’s a bit unknown.
“But I do think that what we have on the car should be more stable.
“But this season in general, our race pace has not been the best if you compare it to a qualifying lap.
“But I just hope that at least we can keep the guys behind us – literally behind us – in the race.
“What happens in front of me, I have no control over. I’ll just try to do the best I can from from my side.”
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