His enthusiastic home fans may have been disappointed when Max Verstappen only finished 2nd free practice for the Dutch Grand Prix in 5th place. But, according to the Red Bull driver, a lap he had to abandon in the middle of the session would have been good enough to put him at the top of the timesheet as F1 returned to the Netherlands.
After Formula 1 was back on track in the Dutch dunes for the first time since 1985, Verstappen was just 0.097 seconds behind rival Lewis Hamilton in an FP1 session punctuated by a 35-minute red flag.
FP2: Leclerc leads Ferrari with 1-2 in the second practice session at Zandvoort, while Hamilton only completes 3 laps
But even though Hamilton was on the sidelines with a drive unit problem at the start of FP2, Verstappen couldn’t take advantage of it. But even though he would finish the session at P5, 0.362 seconds behind the time set by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, Verstappen said he wasn’t worried about his pace.
“I think that doesn’t look very representative from our side in the short term,” said Verstappen. “My lap was on a used set and the lap I had to abandon would have been good enough for the first one in my opinion.
“The tires fall off a bit after just one lap,” added Verstappen. “Nonetheless, we will be working on some things that we were not entirely satisfied with in the short term. But in the long run it looks competitive, so that’s always very important.
Max Verstappen: “Really nice” to drive in front of home fans in Zandvoort
“But we also know that the starting position is very important here. So let’s see what we can do in the short term to make it even better … It’s never perfect, so we’ll always try to find out in detail what we can do better. “
HOW IT HAPPENED: Follow the action from the second practice session for the Dutch GP at Zandvoort
Meanwhile, when asked how it felt to drive the hilly 2.6-mile route in front of his home fans, Verstappen replied: “It was good! Really fun seeing them all in orange and having fun in the stands. And of course the track too, it’s a pretty short lap, but also a lot of fast corners, so it was a fun day. “
Verstappen’s team-mate Sergio Perez was less likely on Friday, who could not do better in FP1 at P16 and in FP2 at P12. And Perez – who had finished simulator work before the weekend, as opposed to Verstappen who had decided against it – admitted he wasn’t comfortable on the old-school Dutch track just yet.
“It was very different from the simulator,” admitted Perez. “I’ve never really been on this track so it was a big challenge out there … [but] I am not feeling very well.
Verstappen can count on a lot of support this weekend
“It’s pretty great out there,” added Perez. “It’s an old school track and you really need that confidence in the session to really trust the car.
“It’s a pretty unique challenge. Completely different from the routes we’ve been on. Tomorrow is so important and I just hope we can make the most of it. “
WATCH: Follow Lewis Hamilton’s lap for a full lap on the revamped Zandvoort circuit
Verstappen will undoubtedly be keen to follow his pole and win last weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix with the same result this weekend in front of his home fans at Zandvoort as he continues to be three points behind Hamilton in the drivers’ field wants to expand ‘ranking.
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