Windsor: 'That's what Verstappen's pole lap was all about'

After qualifying, we can say that Zandvoort occupies a unique place on the F1 calendar. The circuit between the dunes challenges the drivers in a way that almost no other circuit does. To be fast here, you need to drive with a certain finesse.

This was especially noticeable in the Tarzan and Hugenholtz corners. Max Verstappen was able to save time here by getting off the gas fairly early on, without applying the brakes too hard. By keeping the speed high afterwards, he was able to save time at the exit of the corner, as Peter Windsor also noticed.

"Of the best early brakers, Max even braked a little earlier than Lewis. That's what it's all about here. Max's lap was all about early braking. It was about keeping the car nice and flat as it changed direction. It was all about subtle imputs."

Verstappen also calm off the track

"There was absolutely nothing white knuckled about what Max was doing. You could even hear that in his way of talking. Under pressure, for the final run in Q3, he waited in the pit lane for instructions to go out and then calmly said, 'I don't think we should stay in the pits for so long'. In a nice way, there was no tension in his voice," Windsor said.

Verstappen showed that same calmness on the track, which ultimately brought him pole position. Even the fact that he almost lost that position due to a wrong gear change and a dysfunctional DRS, didn't faze him in his post-race comments.