Max Verstappen has confirmed Martin Brundle’s theory that he deliberately eased his pace in the Dutch Grand Prix – but only in the closing laps when he accepted the victory was out of reach.
Having been unbeaten at his home race since the Dutch GP returned to the calendar in 2021, Verstappen was on the receiving end of the biggest victory margin of the F1 2024 season so far at Zandvoort as McLaren driver Lando Norris triumphed by 22.8 seconds.
Max Verstappen admits easing off in Dutch Grand Prix after Martin Brundle claim
Additional reporting by Pablo Hidalgo
After the race, Sky F1 pundit Brundle aired his theory that Verstappen did not drive to his maximum potential as the race unfolded, suggesting that he may have been sending a message to Red Bull.
Verstappen has seen his lead in the Drivers’ Championship reduced to 70 points, with Red Bull now just 30 ahead of McLaren in the Constructors’ standings, having won just three of the last 10 races.
Brundle said he was “pretty sure” that Verstappen deliberately did not drive “as fast as he could go” in order to give Red Bull “a hurry up” to respond to the growing threat posed by McLaren in both Championships.
Analysis: 2024 Dutch Grand Prix
Speaking to DAZN Spain after the race, Verstappen revealed that he did drop his pace, but only to bring the car home across the closing laps once he realised that the race was “completely over.”
He said: “I’m not really surprised by what [McLaren] were doing. We just have to do it a little bit better.
“Today again was very difficult. I struggled a lot with the balance and I couldn’t really execute anything it was just not working.
“I tried to do the racing lines that I wanted to do but the car wasn’t responding. Bad tyre wear also. It was a bad feeling. It felt like the car did not react.
‘The gap behind was also going up and down all the time, so I knew it was completely over with five laps to go so I got off a bit of the throttle to just bring it to the end.
“There was nothing really left to gain. We had to consolidate that P2. It could have been much worse. If being P2 means being sad, I’ll take that.”
Verstappen’s comments come after his father Jos urged Red Bull to “take a good look in the mirror” after fading alarmingly following a dominant start to F1 2024, in which his son won four of the first five races to establish a considerable early advantage.
And he predicted that his son is facing a “really tough” end to the season, having predicted that Red Bull’s downfall would come.
Verstappen Sr, who declared after the Monaco Grand Prix in May that Red Bull’s period of dominance was over, told Dutch publication De Telegraaf: “Maybe I shouldn’t say it, but I’m doing it anyway: the fact that you have to go back to the car from the beginning of this year says enough.
“They just don’t have it right here at the moment. I think they should take a good look in the mirror.
“Max knew this was coming. He just didn’t have a chance. This way it’s going to be really tough the rest of the year.
“Max is doing everything he can, but doesn’t have the material to finish it. It was already exceptional that he qualified second.”
