Struggling before the summer break, the three-time reigning F1 world champion Max Verstappen (Red Bull) hopes to get back on track at home this weekend at the Dutch Grand Prix, 15e round out of 24 of the season.
In front of his tens of thousands of fans of the “orange army” who will fill the stands of the superb coastal circuit of Zandvoort, the Dutchman will try to remain undefeated on a track where he has won three pole positions and three victories in as many participations.
But the task of “Mad Max” looks very difficult as he has been in difficulty during the last four races after having dominated the start of the season. The Dutch ogre is no longer as dominant as in previous seasons and he has already let seven victories slip away this year, or one race in two.
“Obviously I’m very happy to be back here, it’s a circuit that I really like and it’s great to see people having fun and being happy. But I’m mostly focused on performance. We have to learn more about the car in order to be more competitive,” said Verstappen, who will compete in the 200e Grand Prix of his career in Formula 1.
Norris still believes in the title
The triple world champion, the big favourite to win a fourth consecutive crown, remains calm despite recent disappointing results. With a lead of 78 and 100 points over Briton Lando Norris (McLaren) and Monegasque Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) respectively, the Red Bull driver still has a comfortable cushion with ten races remaining this year.
“I’m not really worried, but I’m not thinking about Abu Dhabi (the last GP) yet. I want the team to improve, the car to improve because that would make things easier for us. Lando [Norris] “is the closest, but we’ve seen lately that a lot of drivers have won races and it’s very close,” Verstappen explained Thursday in a press conference.
Very critical of himself before the break, Norris, his main competitor, still believes in the impossible, a crazy comeback on his friend Verstappen to win the world title.
“It’s still possible but there are a lot of points difference and it’s against Max… But I want to stay optimistic and tell myself that I still have a chance even if I know that the gap is big and that it’s going to be a difficult challenge to take up. But with our current performances, with what I can achieve when everything goes well, I want to believe that it’s still possible,” the Englishman told the press on Thursday.
New boss for Alpine
Mercedes, winner of three of the last four GPs, will also have its say this weekend and could place itself as arbiter of the Red Bull / McLaren duel.
Ferrari, which has only taken two podiums in the last six races, will also be hoping to return to its spring form, which ended with two wins. A rebound a week before the home round in front of its fans at Monza would be ideal for the Scuderia.
This weekend north of the North Sea will also be marked by the debut of the new boss of the Franco-British Alpine team, the Briton Oliver Oakes, who at 36 will become the second youngest “Team principal” in history.
The former boss of the Hitech team, entered in F2 and F3, and replacement for Bruno Famin, at the helm of the team for a year and will remain at Alpine, will have a lot to do to straighten out a team that is only in eighth place out of ten in the constructors’ standings.