Max Verstappen Was “Not Feeling Well at All” Before Dutch GP Ended in Huge Crash

Max Verstappen’s final Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort lasted just one lap. His Red Bull RB22 was destroyed in the crash, while Verstappen walked back to the pits and the race was stopped for a red flag.

The crash took place at Arie Luyendijkbocht, the circuit’s banked final corner. The right-front tire appeared to cross the painted white line on the inside, with the lack of traction sending the car into a spin before it hit the concrete barrier.

Verstappen climbed from the car without injury. “I am ok. Yeah, that’s it. Aaah, f**k, sorry!” he said over the radio.

Liam Lawson, Verstappen’s temporary Red Bull teammate, was fighting him for seventh with the duo behind Lewis Hamilton when he passed the wreckage. Lawson asked over team radio, “Is he okay? That was ‘f**king huge! Is he all right?”

Verstappen talked to the media following his incident.

“Yeah, well I think the start was just a consequence of what was happening on the right,” Verstappen said after the race. “It’s okay, it can happen. And then I got put out. It was still quite wet in that corner, and as soon as I saw the dry patch coming, I was like, ‘Now you can accelerate.’ But clearly, that didn’t work. So, probably still a bit too early.”

The car was destroyed in the hit, but how did Verstappen fare? “It was a decent hit, but I’ve had worse.” He added: “I just asked, ‘Can I not go to the medical center?’ and they were like, ‘It’s still below the threshold.'”

It’s been a difficult weekend in Zanvoort for the Dutchman, and crashing out of the grand prix was likely not how he wanted to end it.

“I think overall we had a disappointing weekend with pace,” he admitted. “We just couldn’t really fight with the guys ahead. That’s probably the most disappointing part, but of course I wish that we could have done a little bit more in the race, but looking at the pace that we were showing, I don’t think it was really possible anyway. Yeah, so would have liked to race, so would have liked to try and done a good job, and yeah, hopefully in Monza we can be a little bit more competitive.”

The four-time champion also admitted he hasn’t been well

“Yeah, I was just not feeling well at all. Just looking forward to a week break where I can just recover also, because I really didn’t feel good. So, yeah, I wish for more, but, you know, you need to be realistic this season. We are the fourth-fastest team, so it’s not like walking up to Zandvoort, suddenly, you know, we can do some magic things. It’s just how it is.

“Other teams have brought upgrades, we haven’t. When you’re already on the back foot, you’re even more on the back foot. So, it’s nothing, yeah, surprising, just the reality that we live in.”

This was supposed to be Verstappen’s final appearance at Circuit Zandvoort, ending the track’s Formula 1 run from 2021 through 2026. The weekend also introduced the Sprint format to Zandvoort.

Attendance exceeded 300,000, with 105,000 fans watching the grand prix from the circuit itself. They saw the four-time world champion retire before completing even one of the 72 laps around the 4.259-kilometre circuit.

Verstappen entered the race sixth in the FIA standings with 109 points and leaves with the same.