'Could have been a lot worse' - Verstappen relieved after huge crash

Max Verstappen admitted that his significant crash at the Dutch Grand Prix "could have been a lot worse." The Red Bull driver lost control of his car on the opening lap of his final home event.

Verstappen grazed the damp kerb on a high-speed banked corner, leading to a hard impact with the barriers in front of the capacity Zandvoort crowd.

The incident triggered a red flag, but Verstappen emerged from the crash unharmed. This event may be the last Dutch Grand Prix of his career, as the race currently lacks a contract beyond this year.

"It was still quite wet in that corner, and as I went through it, I noticed a slightly dry line emerging. I thought I could accelerate again from that point, but it suddenly accelerated much more," Verstappen explained to Sky Sports F1.

"It caught me out, plain and simple. I tried to correct it, but I couldn't. Then you hit the wall, but it could have been much worse as there were many cars behind me. Fortunately, that all turned out well."

Verstappen: Zandvoort highlighted Red Bull as fourth fastest

This dramatic outcome marked a disappointing return for Red Bull after the summer break, occurring just days after Verstappen signed a contract extension to remain with the team until at least the end of the 2030 season.

Verstappen finished sixth in Saturday's Sprint race and was half a second slower than the leading Mercedes and McLaren cars in both qualifying sessions. Having been competitive at the front in the four races prior to the break, with three podiums in July, Red Bull's apparent step back was surprising.

"Looking at the season on average, I think we've been the fourth fastest car. This weekend really emphasized that," Verstappen stated.

"We're a little behind, and we want to be closer. Perhaps at the next race in Monza, we will be, but I'm not sure."

"As we approach the end of the season, we also need to consider next year. I believe there are certain aspects of the car we are examining that can only be implemented next year to achieve a significant performance increase."

Red Bull did not introduce any major upgrades at Zandvoort, only a new front corner. Team principal Laurent Mekies suggested that they need to determine if their performance deficit was track-specific or related to previous upgrades.

"Performance-wise, there's no hiding. It was a very challenging weekend. It appears we've taken a small step back compared to our performance before the summer break," he commented.

"Of course, we'll never know what the car's true pace would have been with Max. It's fair to say that session by session, it looked more difficult than it did in Budapest, Spa, or Austria."