Before the last Formula 1 race, which was decided in Belgium a month ago, it stormed around Max Verstappen and his stable.
Verstappen received scathing criticism from rival Lewis Hamilton, who felt he did not behave with dignity towards his team in connection with the race in Hungary on 21 July. Questions arose as to how Max Verstappen, who has not won since June, was doing.
In addition, it was discovered that he played car simulators late at night, which could have affected his performance in, among other things, the Hungarian GP.
A week later, Verstappen is penalized with ten places before the F1 race in Belgium due to an incorrect engine change. After winning seven of the first ten races, his car began to slow down. The team wanted to do something, which contributed to the faulty engine swap.
Now Formula 1 restarts after a month break. The location is Max Verstappen’s home track in the Netherlands, Zandvoort.
Verstappen leads overall by a margin of 78 points to Lando Norris, Great Britain. Ten races remain.
Ahead of his home race, there are two questions:
How is Max Verstappen doing mentally?
Has the team managed to get his car faster according to the rules?
Max Verstappen is humble ahead of this weekend’s home race. To AP, he talks about the work to improve the car by, among other things, creating a better car balance. He adds:
– Last year, when I came here, I was much more confident that we had a great chance to win the race.
If Max Verstappen manages to win this weekend, it will be his fourth victory in a row at home. That makes him historic. Only Juan Manuel Fangio (Argentina), Jim Clark and Lewis Hamilton (Great Britain) have managed this in their respective home stadiums.
Before the latest break, Max Verstappen signaled a calm before the possibility of making history on home soil. In the team’s podcast, he said:
“I honestly don’t care about the records. When I’m sitting on the beach drinking a gin and tonic, I don’t care, I’ll be fine!”.
Facts. The standings in Formula 1
1) Max Verstappen, Netherlands, 277 points, 2) Lando Norris, Great Britain, 199, 3) Charles Leclerc, Monaco, 177, 4) Oscar Piastri, Australia 167, 5. Carlos Sainz Jr, Spain162, 6). Lewis Hamilton Great Britain 150,
Teamställningen: 1) Red Bull 408, 2) McLaren 366, 3) Ferrari 345, 4) Mercedes 266, 5) Aston Martin 73, 6) Racing Bulls 34, 7) Haas 27, 8) Alpine 11, 9) Williams 4, 10) Sauber 0.
(TT)
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