Before the last Formula 1 race, which took place in Belgium a month ago, there was a storm surrounding Max Verstappen and his team.
Verstappen received scathing criticism from competitor Lewis Hamilton, who believed that he did not behave worthily towards his team in connection with the race in Hungary on July 21. Questions arose about how Max Verstappen was doing, who had not won since June.
Furthermore, it was revealed that he played car simulator late at night, which could have affected his performance, among other things, in the Hungarian GP.
A week later, Verstappen was 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 started to slow down. The team wanted to do something, which contributed to the incorrect engine change.
Now Formula 1 is restarting after a month's break. The venue is Max Verstappen's home track in Dutch Zandvoort.
Verstappen leads overall with a 78-point margin to Lando Norris, Great Britain. Ten races remain.
Humble before the task
Before his home race, there are two questions:
How is Max Verstappen mentally?
Has the team managed to make his car faster according to the rules?
Max Verstappen is humble before the weekend's home race. He tells AP 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 big chance to win the race.
Can write history
If Max Verstappen succeeds in winning this weekend, it will be his fourth consecutive win on home soil. This will make him historic. Only Juan Manuel Fangio (Argentina), Jim Clark, and Lewis Hamilton (Great Britain) have managed this on their respective home tracks.
Before the last break, Max Verstappen signaled a calm before the opportunity to write history on home soil. In the team's podcast, he said:
"Honestly, I don't care about the records. When I'm sitting on the beach and drinking gin and tonic, I don't care about it, then I'll be fine!"
- 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, Spain 162, 6). Lewis Hamilton Great Britain 150,
Team standings: 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.
