What a comeback!

Belgian-Dutch racer Max Verstappen had a taste of what his home Grand Prix will feel like after he put the double world title-winning Red Bull Racing RB8 through its paces in the newly renovated Zandvoort Circuit, writes Mai Al Khatib-Camille.

Aston Martin Red Bull Racing star became the first man to drive a Formula 1 car at the circuit in the Netherlands as it makes its return to Formula 1 in 35 years in May. It gave Verstappen’s loyal ‘Orange Army’ of fans the chance to see him race on home soil for the first time as well.  He was also joined by two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Arie Luyendyk for the re-opening of the circuit.

Verstappen was impressed by the changes to the seaside circuit. He said: “It was a great opportunity to be the first person to drive an F1 car at the new Zandvoort Circuit and the track is really cool – especially Turn 3 where the banking is amazing.”

While the layout of one Verstappen’s boyhood stomping grounds remains largely the same, a number of key modifications have been made, most notably in Turns 3 (Hugenholtz) and the final corner (Arie Luyendyk), both of which now feature steep and challenging banking of up to 18 degrees.

“I didn’t expect the banking to be that big but it’s really cool to drive an F1 car on,” he added. “The last corner is the same. It’s also pretty banked and with the new cars and DRS open through there it will be a good challenge and a lot of fun. The whole track is very demanding. There are a lot of fast corners and still not that much run-off. That makes it really challenging to go on the limit, but that’s good. That’s what we like. Does it give me a head start coming here today? Maybe a little. It’s always good to drive a track for the first time and see how it feels and what it’s like. I definitely enjoyed it.”

As well as giving the RB8 a workout, Verstappen also took to the track in an Aston Martin DBS Superleggera. His father Jos, who was celebrating his 48th birthday, was given an adrenaline-fuelled in lap of the revamped circuit alongside him in the Aston Martin DBS.

“He still doesn’t like it sitting next to me,” Verstappen laughed. “So I didn’t take it to the limit. We were just talking and having some fun.”

Verstappen’s next visit to Zandvoort will be at the start of May and he can’t wait for his home race to arrive. “I’m really looking forward to coming back here for the Grand Prix,” he said.

“To have a home grand prix will be even more crazy than usual in terms of support. I hope it’s going to be a highlight of the season, but it will all depend on the Sunday result. But we’ll do everything we can to make sure it’s a good one.”