27/08/2025 08:20
Max Verstappen effectively has 'nothing to lose' heading into the
Dutch Grand Prix now the F1 world title is almost certainly out of
reach, one former driver believes. Verstappen finds himself 97
points behind championship leader Oscar Piastri heading into the
final 10 races of the season, but his Red Bull RB21 is at a
significant pace disadvantage to McLaren's MCL39. Given the huge
scale of changes coming for 2026, Red Bull is extremely unlikely to
divert any more resources onto the '25 machine, meaning
Verstappen's bid to match Michael Schumacher by winning five titles
on the trot is likely to fail, with Piastri or Lando Norris
carrying the #1 next season. However, Verstappen has an almost
faultless record at his home Dutch GP at Zandvoort, with three wins
from four events since it returned in 2021. He has only been beaten
by Norris in 2024, and still finished second. Analysing the
situation the world champion finds himself in, Jolyon Palmer
believes Verstappen effectively has a free hit heading into the
weekend. "It's going to be a boost, it just has to be a boost,"
Palmer explained on the F1 Nation podcast of the support from the
partisan Dutch crowd. "The Zandvoort crowd is one of the best of
the season, he'll turn up with a spring in his step, and if he
thinks the championship is lost, which is most surely is, he can
turn up and think: 'Oh what is there to play for?' "But actually,
Max turning up in Zandvoort, he'll know what is to play for because
the crowd will be raucous and if he puts it on pole and wins the
race. "But he is up against it, but I do think it is the perfect
way for Max to come back after the summer break and a tough race in
Hungary to think: 'Yeah, I can still execute a great race', and the
crowd will hopefully lift him and spur him to keep pushing."
