Verstappen determined to add one final 'memory' at Zandvoort farewell

The four-time world champion won three consecutive races at Zandvoort between 2021 and 2023, before McLaren took over at the front with victories in each of the last two years. The papaya team could once again be the one to beat today, with Lando Norris set to start the race from pole position.

Speaking during the traditional pre-race drivers' parade, where he was once again greeted by loud cheers and chants from the home crowd, local hero Verstappen admitted he is determined to enjoy every moment of his final Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort. The four-time world champion is well aware that Red Bull is not as competitive as he would like this season, but he still intends to see how closely he can challenge the cars starting ahead of him and what result he can achieve in front of his home fans.

Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies believes the team can take encouragement from the race pace shown during the Sprint, where it was able to stay closer to the cars ahead. With as many as seven or eight cars potentially in contention for the podium, Mekies expects a tight battle and says Red Bull will give everything to put itself firmly in the fight, despite the difficulties of overtaking around Zandvoort.

Mekies also acknowledged that Red Bull has struggled to extract enough performance over a single lap throughout the weekend. The team was more than half a second off the pace in Sprint Qualifying and, although progress was made on Saturday, the improvement was not enough to make the car truly competitive.

He nevertheless praised both Verstappen and Lawson for maximising the package available to them, highlighting Verstappen's efforts until the final moments and Lawson's performance after moving between teams, with the latter finishing just over a tenth behind his teammate.

Rain swept in at Zandvoort roughly 30 minutes before lights out, prompting teams to erect tents over the cars as they waited for a break in the weather.

A normal standing start remained the baseline plan, but officials were prepared to deploy a Safety Car and a rolling start if the downpour intensified, leaving tyre choice finely poised between wets and slicks. Read more