Max Verstappen put his foot down at the Dutch Grand Prix
Max Verstappen confirmed that he had deliberately slowed down during the final laps of the Dutch Grand Prix. A race he knew he'd lost to Lando Norris. This theory had been put forward by Martin Brundle, who suggested that the Dutch driver had not pushed his car to the limit.
Martin Brundle had suspected it during the Grand Prix, but Max Verstappen confirmed that he deliberately slowed down his pace at Zandvoort. Although he does not admit to having done it throughout the race, the Dutchman admitted to having lost hope in the final laps. A realization that made him ease off the accelerator while trying to hold on to his second place until the end.
A theory shared in the media
The Dutch Grand Prix particularly surprised last weekend. While Max Verstappen was expected to win his home race, it is Lando Norris, a driver for McLaren, who clinched the victory. Although it could have been decided by a few hundredths, the British driver finished the race with more than twenty seconds ahead. With this lead, Lando Norris sets a new time record for this season.
After the race, Martin Brundle, sports commentator, suggested that Max Verstappen may not have pushed the car to its full potential. Having faced difficulties with the Red Bull in recent times, this could have been a warning to the driver about the car’s performance. With a growing threat day by day, Martin Brundle is almost certain that Max Verstappen did not drive as fast as he could have.
Despite his second place at the end of the weekend, Max Verstappen admitted in the post-race press conference that the Grand Prix was difficult due to balancing issues with his car and tire wear. The onboard camera on his single-seater sparked debate after it was seen that the car was not responding as the Dutch driver tried to turn the steering wheel. While he couldn’t perform at his last year’s level in this new season, he still remains first in the drivers’ championship.
The race was already over
Martin Brundle’s theory has made its way through the media and the paddock until reaching the ears of the main person concerned. When questioned about this by DAZN Spain, the driver admitted that he had indeed slowed down, but only on the final laps of the race. “The gap behind was fluctuating the whole time as well, so I knew it was completely over with five laps to go, so I eased off the accelerator just to bring the car home to the finish line,” he confirmed.
Red Bull and Max Verstappen are used to better results. While the Dutchman was dominant in previous seasons, he hasn’t won a single Grand Prix since Spain. If his result may not be what he was expecting, he still remains at the top of the pack. In the same interview, the Red Bull driver acknowledges that he slowed down because he knew he couldn’t achieve a better result. If he had tried to catch up with Lando Norris, he could have lost his second place. There was nothing more to gain. We had to consolidate this second place. It could have been much worse, he concluded at DAZN Spain.
As the Formula 1 season enters its final phase, Red Bull is facing new problems with the car. Max Verstappen, who is holding onto first place in the championship, is starting to lose hope in his car, which he heavily criticized this weekend. If they want to prevent McLaren from regaining the lead in both the driver and constructor standings, they will have to find a way to restore the performance of the previous car to the RB20.
