Max Verstappen reveals ‘underlying problem’ as he delivers qualifying blow

Max Verstappen has all but ruled out putting himself in contention for a fourth Dutch Grand Prix victory as he doubts that he will even feature in the top five in qualifying.

Zandvoort returned to the Formula 1 calendar in 2021, with Verstappen taking the victory by 20 seconds ahead of his title rival Lewis Hamilton as the eight-point swing gave him the lead in an ever-changing championship picture.

Can Max Verstappen win a fourth Dutch GP?

Winning again in 2022 and 2023 as he also added to his tally of World Championships, Verstappen was dethroned last year as Lando Norris beat him by 22 seconds on a weekend in which Red Bull had no answer to the McLaren driver’s pace.

This year, it looks as if McLaren not only has the measure of its rivals once more, but that Red Bull has slipped further back in the pecking order.

Verstappen finished Friday’s running at his home race in fifth place, 0.588s down on pace-setter Lando Norris.

Losing out to both McLarens on the day, the Dutchman was also beaten by Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, with George Russell also in the mix.

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And based on FP1’s performances, it could’ve been two Aston Martins had Lance Stroll not crashed heavily in the day’s second session.

It left Verstappen predicting even a top-five grid position in qualifying will be difficult to achieve.

“Still struggling with the same things and again we tried a lot of things with the car but it just doesn’t really seem to change anything in terms of my underlying problem,” he told Sky F1 after second practice.

“We’ll look overnight to find a bit more but I’m not going to expect a massive turnaround.

“It’s just tricky, plus the layout of the track also probably doesn’t suit our problems that we have with the car.

“Just understeer, that’s my main problem. And you know, in the middle sector there are a lot of long corners, so it’s not, not, not great.”

Asked whether he could secure a grid slot that would put him in contention for Sunday’s victory, Verstappen replied: “I think it will be hard enough to be in that top five it looks like.

“But we’ll see.”

Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko reckons there could be as many as three teams fighting for the positions behind the McLarens on the grid.

“Aston Martin is surprisingly strong, and Mercedes is more or less on par. Ferrari seems to have some more problems. It might be a battle between Aston Martin, Mercedes and us,” he said.

“Let’s put it this way, better than in Hungary.

“But that was not so difficult, and we have not yet fully found the right balance. The harder the rubber, the easier it is for us. We also saw that in the long run.”

Verstappen will line up on the Zandvoort grid third in the Drivers’ Championship where he is 15 points ahead of Russell.

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