Max toils on big homecoming
FANS pour in like orange lava from station to track, through the marijuana whiff and stroopwafel stalls, for a piece of Max Verstappen.
The world champion knows it and has hired a couple of eagle-eyed security guards to be at his side this weekend in Zandvoort, 25 miles west of Amsterdam, where he is under threat from no more menacing an intrusion than autograph hunters and selfie seekers.
His Dutch Grand Prix weekend started with national recognition when he was appointed, by royal assent, an Officer of the Order of the Orange-Nassau. And, if current form is an indicator, it will end with his 10th victory of a title defence that has turned into a one-man show. Not that it was all smooth running here yesterday. Far from it. His gearbox failed in the first practice session and he sat out 50 minutes of the hour. Then he was only eighth fastest on the banked seaside track after stepping back into the Red Bull cockpit for the second session, to a big cheer from the 100,000 crowd. Flaky Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was quickest. Lewis Hamilton was just sevenhundredths back, offering his latest hope of victory in a year of false dawns. Could the script that casts Verstappen as the superhero yet be ripped up? Well, maybe. At least the local favourite will not have to serve a grid penalty this time, given that his replacement gearbox is drawn from his permitted allocation. So he should not need to do what he did last week in Belgium, tear through the field from 14th to triumph by 18 seconds. Verstappen’s closest pal among the driving fraternity is McLaren’s Lando Norris. The Brit underlined what Verstappen’s team principal Christian Horner noted last week in describing his friend as liberated since he captured the title. Norris observed he has his work and personal life balance ‘sussed’.
But does he foresee a long period of Verstappen domination that might see him nudging or eclipsing Hamilton’s peak of 103 wins and seven titles so far? The Dutchman has already mustered 29 wins — two more than Sir Jackie Stewart, for heaven’s sake — and is still only 24. ‘If he has two seasons like this, he can get another 30 or 40 wins and he is up to 70, so he could possibly beat Hamilton’s records,’ said Norris, who dines and jet skis with fellow Monaco resident Verstappen.
‘I don’t think Max cares too much about numbers or what you see on paper. He just wants to be known as the best driver. ‘But if it gets to a point where it is close, he will absolutely stay in Formula One as long as he needs to get to the records.’
● McLAReN have won the right to race Formula Two champion Oscar Piastri next season after the Contract Recognition Board ruled his deal with the Woking team — rather than with Alpine, who schooled him — stands.
The judgment revealed the 21-year-old Australian signed for McLaren on July 4, the day after the British Grand Prix and seven weeks before McLaren announced they were dropping Daniel Ricciardo.
TV: LIVE on Sky Sports F1. Qualifying today 2pm. Race tomorrow 2pm.