(Motorsport-Total.com) – This was not how Dutch fans had imagined the last Formula 1 Grand Prix in Zandvoort (follow live here in the ticker): Not even one lap was completed when the race for local hero Max Verstappen was already over. The Dutchman crashed quite hard in the final corner but was able to get out uninjured.
Read more McLaren puzzles before Grand Prix: Has Ferrari cracked the tire strategy?
Before the race, rain had made parts of the track wet. Nevertheless, all drivers were on slicks and got through the first part of the lap well. In the last steep corner, however, Verstappen went a bit too far down and probably onto a wet part of the track, causing him to lose control of his rear.
The Red Bull turned left and hit the track barrier almost head-on. “That was a driving error by Max Verstappen, a tick too far to the right,” judges Sky expert Timo Glock. “There, of course, the water stays a bit longer, and that’s where he radically lost the car.”
Fortunately, the rest of the field was able to avoid him and did not hit the spinning Dutchman. Further back in the field, only Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) was caught out, spinning at the same spot but, unlike Verstappen, not crashing.
Read more “Will start whining soon”: Verstappen taunts Russell in vain
The race was interrupted with a red flag and resumed after about a half-hour break.
For Verstappen, the entire first lap was already turbulent. Right at the start, the four-time world champion was slightly pushed onto the grass in a chain reaction before he lightly collided with his teammate Liam Lawson at the exit of turn 3.
Read more Alexander Albon tells of a curious encounter with Verstappen in Sardinia
Reload: A detailed report will follow shortly at this spot.