Yesterday at 07:25
Max Verstappen has been warned by Jolyon Palmer that he will have
to endure "bogey" tracks for Red Bull in the coming rounds after
his home race at Zandvoort. The former Renault F1 driver believes
the Dutch Grand Prix will be the four-time F1 drivers' champion's
best opportunity to get a result for the next few events. Whilst
Palmer does not expect the 27-year-old to have enough in his locker
to trouble the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, he
anticipates Verstappen will be in the hunt for a first podium since
the Canadian Grand Prix. The 65-time grand prix winner has a strong
record at home, with three victories and a second place in the four
years since the coastal venue returned to the F1 calendar in 2021.
"I think it should be okay around there," Palmer said on the F1
Nation podcast ahead of the trip to Zandvoort. "I don't see it
being, you know, one of their better... Silverstone coos of getting
on pole position. "Problem is, when I look at the calendar now for
Red Bull, I'm seeing a lot of sort of bogey tracks for them, coming
up with Monza, with Singapore, and Baku, which sort of played out
last year as well." Like the RB20 that came before it, the RB21 has
proven ill-equipped to handle low-speed corners, something the
field will face plenty of over the coming rounds. At 97 points
adrift of drivers' championship leader Piastri, Verstappen is all
but guaranteed to relinquish his crown at the end of the year, with
only 10 events left to add to his two victories in 2025. "The
low-speed performance isn't great on that car," Palmer explained.
"They love the fast stuff, and Zandvoort is kind of in the middle
of it: It's got a nice flow, it's got some fast corners, but it's
also got some more fiddly bits. "But I think with home support for
Max, it's the better track for them in the next few. "I would
expect him to be in podium contention, but I don't think he'll have
enough to take on the McLarens this time."
