Verstappen crashes out on lap one of the Dutch Grand Prix, but escapes unhurt

Four-time Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen was forced out of the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort on the very first lap after slamming into the barriers. The Dutch driver was unhurt and climbed out of the wrecked car unaided, though the crash could easily have had far more serious consequences — the car bounced back off the barrier and onto the track, narrowly avoiding the rest of the field.

According to the driver himself, the accident was caused by a misjudgement of track conditions after rain. "The problem is that I misjudged what I could get away with on a drying track. The right side was still wet, I moved onto a drier line and thought I could push. Clearly it didn't work out — it was still too early," the four-time world champion admitted.

A final race at Zandvoort

Crashes like this are rare in Verstappen's career, and it's especially painful that it happened on the very weekend Zandvoort said goodbye to the F1 calendar: the circuit's contract with the championship expires after this Grand Prix, and the race promoter has chosen not to renew it.

The good news is that the driver escaped injury. He got out of the car without assistance and did not require medical treatment. "It was a decent hit, but I'm fine. I hit a safer part of the barrier, and I think it's better to go in like that, facing forward, than sideways. I asked if I could skip going to the medical centre, but I still had to get checked out — and I'm okay," Verstappen said.

A disappointing weekend

The whole race weekend went wrong for the Dutchman right from the start. He finished only sixth in the sprint, and had little to suggest a better result was coming in the main race either: starting from seventh, he held that position right up until the crash.

"This weekend was disappointing overall, and it ended with a racing incident. I don't think there's much more to add. Unfortunately, I don't have the feeling that we're capable of more right now. I hope that in two weeks in Italy we'll have better pace and the race will go better for us," said the 28-year-old driver.

The current Formula 1 season began on 8 March with the Australian Grand Prix and will conclude on 6 December in Abu Dhabi. The reigning champion is Britain's Lando Norris, who races for McLaren.

Source: sport.cz