Max Verstappen has explained that his crash on the first lap of the Dutch Grand Prix was a driver error. The Red Bull driver lost control of his RB22 in the banked final corner, which was still damp after a rain shower.
Starting from seventh on the grid after feeling unwell all weekend, Max Verstappen made a decent getaway but was squeezed onto the grass in a four-wide moment into Turn 1. He then came under pressure from Red Bull stand-in Liam Lawson, which he accepted as normal: "We are allowed to race, so I think that's normal."
A rain shower about 50 minutes before the start had left the track damp, and two drivers lost control at the banked final corner on lap one. Gabriel Bortoleto escaped from a 360-degree spin, but Verstappen could not catch the car and suffered a heavy crash that caused a red flag.
"I think the start is just a consequence of what is happening on the right. It's OK, it can happen," Verstappen commented. "Then, yeah, I got caught 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 it was still a bit too early."
Verstappen described the impact as "a decent hit" but clarified he'd "had worse". Red Bull endured its worst grand prix since the April break, with Lawson finishing seventh as the team's best car.
Verstappen admitted to "a disappointing weekend" in terms of pace as McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes were out of reach. "I wish for more, but you need to be realistic this season," he insisted. "We are the fourth-fastest team, so it's not like walking up to Zandvoort and suddenly we can do some magic things."
He added that other teams have brought upgrades while Red Bull haven't, leaving them further behind. Verstappen will now focus on resting ahead of the Italian Grand Prix: "I've just not been feeling well. I'm just looking forward to a break where I can just recover also, because I really didn't feel good."
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