Lammers: 'Verstappen was aware of that at the start'

The coming week, the agenda of former F1 driver Jan Lammers will probably be overflowing. As sporting director of Zandvoort circuit, he is organising the Dutch Grand Prix for the second year in a row. With the many tens of thousands of orange-coloured Dutch in the stands, he is undoubtedly hoping for a new victory for Max Verstappen, as happened in Spa.

Last Sunday, Lammers had watched in admiration as the Dutchman drove from 14th place to victory. The Zandvoort resident praised the calmness with which Verstappen moved through the field on the first lap, clearly seeing that Verstappen had started the race with a long-term vision. "I think they (Red Bull Racing) had the idea for a long time that they could win, although they were talking about the podium. It soon became clear that it was a walk in the park," Lammers said in the F1 podcast from the NOS.

Red tyre

A big reason why Verstappen won was the way he handled his tyres. The reigning champion and pole sitter Carlos Sainz were the only ones to start the race on the soft, red tyre. This gave them better grip compared to the competition, but the soft tyre also wears out faster.

"On that red tyre and with a full tank, Sainz tried very hard to get a gap. You shouldn't do that on this tyre, because it wears down quickly. A tyre always degrades when you drive longer. Then that cliff drops very quickly. That was something Max seemed to be aware of at the start," says Lammers.