Scary onboard video shows Max Verstappen’s crash that stopped the Dutch Grand Prix with a red flag
Max Verstappen had a tough moment at his home Grand Prix, crashing out during the second lap of the race at Zandvoort. It was the last time this famous track will be on the calendar, and Max had hoped for a great send-off after qualifying seventh.
The race, which was the first in a month, stopped just three minutes in because of the crash. Max had just fended off a move from Liam Lawson a few corners before, but then he locked up his tires and spun into the sandbags right in front of the cheering home crowd.
There’s now some on-board video that shows how scary the crash was. Max hit a wet patch on the track, thanks to rain that came after the Sprint and qualifying yesterday, making the surface slippery. The footage zooms in on his right rear wheel touching the white line at the edge of the track, which caused the spin.
The good news is Max got out of the car okay, even though the crash looked bad. On the radio, you could hear his frustration as he said, “Yeah, that’s it, ah s**t, sorry.”
Max has had a few spins and crashes this year, but mostly things that weren’t his fault. Back in July, he had a tough time at the British Grand Prix and even let out some choice words after losing control of the car, with attention on a new rear wing causing trouble.
Liam Lawson, who is now leading the Red Bull team while filling in for the injured Isack Hadjar, was right behind Max and managed to avoid a crash himself. He sounded worried on the radio, saying, “Is he okay? That was ******* huge.”
Just behind, Gabriel Bortoleto also locked up in the same corner but was able to recover after a full spin without losing his spot.
For Verstappen, this crash means the 112 points he has so far, placing him sixth in the championship, won’t increase for now. That leaves the door open for Oscar Piastri to catch up behind him and puts some pressure from Lando Norris ahead.
The race started with Lando Norris in pole position, while others like the Cadillac pair struggled near the back as the F1 season got going again after the summer break.
Meanwhile, Kimi Antonelli looks to have a strong chance to widen his lead in the championship after starting second.