Verstappen thinks he has advantage in Zandvoort: 'Already driven on new circuit'

It promises to be a special weekend with the first home race in Formula 1 for Max Verstappen at the Zandvoort circuit. In Red Bull Racing's official preview, Verstappen talks about the upcoming race.

Last weekend Verstappen won the shortest race in the history of Formula 1. How does he feel about it? "It’s not how you expect to win a race and not the way we wanted the weekend to go but a win is a win and the points are still important for both championships and we have to maximise every opportunity."

"Of course as drivers we all wanted to race and put on a show for the fans but it was clearly not an easy decision and the lack of visibility meant it just wasn’t safe in the end so we have to respect that", the Dutchman said in the preview.

Two home races in a row for Verstappen

Zandvoort is the second home race in a row for Verstappen, something that should be more than special for the Red Bull driver. "I'm really looking forward to the race at Zandvoort. It will be special to have a race in the Netherlands in front of my home crowd but also as a driver it’s a good challenge to go to a new circuit and find the limit in an F1 car."

In Austria and Belgium 'the orange army' was already in full force and this weekend will be no different. "It was amazing to see so many fans supporting us in Austria and Belgium and I hope we can put on a good show for everyone in the grandstands this weekend. As for the track, it might be a little hard to overtake on but for single lap performance I think it’s going to be rewarding. The qualifying laps will be very quick there so any mistakes will be really costly. After the race was cancelled last year this year will be even more special and of course it would be amazing to win on another home circuit in front of the Orange Army."

Modified circuit Zandvoort

Verstappen revealed that he hasn't practiced much in the simulator yet, yet the Dutchman thinks he already has an advantage on the circuit. "I’ve only done one race at Zandvoort and it was in a Formula 3 car. At that time I was known as ‘the son of’ but it’s going to be the other way around now [laughs]. The track has of course changed since then, with a few corners adjusted. Already in the F3 car, the corners were really enjoyable and they were pretty fast so I’m excited to race again in the F1 car with even more grip. I’ve also been there a few times with Red Bull for show runs in an old f1 car, so I have driven a few laps on the updated track in an F1 car which could be useful on the first few laps."