"You can’t really change the car"- Max Verstappen disappointed with Red Bull's start at 2022 F1 Dutch GP

Max Verstappen is disappointed with Red Bull's poor start to the 2022 Dutch GP. The 24-year-old retired from FP1 due to a gearbox issue. He subsequently managed to go only eighth-fastest in FP2, putting him on the back foot for the remainder of the weekend.

Max Verstappen's car was nothing like it was at Spa, where it was more fighter jet-like. The Dutchman struggled around his home track at Zandvoort, with the RB18 clearly sliding out of control ever so often.

The world champion suffered from a gearbox issue in FP1, leading to his early retirement from the session. The team was forced to swap his gearbox between the two sessions on Friday, but the driver did not incur a gearbox penalty as it was within the allotted set.

Speaking to the media after the session, Max Verstappen rued the on-track time he had lost, saying:

“I think on the hard tyres you couldn’t really tell the balance because we had such little grip on the tyres. Then you are a session behind, so we went into FP2 and the balance wasn’t great but in an hour session you can’t really change the car a lot.

“So we just tried to deal with what we had and that wasn’t great today, but we’ll have the night to look into things and for sure we can do better than this.”

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Charles Leclerc won't be able to pip Max Verstappen in 2022, claims Mika Hakkinen

Max Verstappen will not be caught by Charles Leclerc in the race for the 2022 F1 Drivers' World championship, according to two-time champion Mika Hakkinen.

Verstappen's form in 2022 has been the stuff of legends, as was proven at the 2022 Belgian GP, where the Dutchman won the race from P14 on the grid.

In the process, Verstappen also became the first driver since Bruce McLaren to win consecutive races after starting outside the top 10. The 24-year-old went into the summer break after winning the 2022 F1 Hungarian GP. He started the race in P10.

In his column for Unibet, Hakkinen commented on Leclerc's battle with Verstappen, saying:

“At the moment it is very difficult to see Leclerc challenging Verstappen for the title. There are only eight races left and Verstappen has a 93 point lead. The Red Bull car seems to be getting even quicker. On top of that, Ferrari just don’t seem to have the consistency and confidence, so although I expect Leclerc to be able to win again, I don’t think he will be able to keep Verstappen from adding to his lead.”

Charles Leclerc and team topped the timing charts in the second free practice session of the 2022 Dutch GP, with Max Verstappen all the way back in eighth place.

If Ferrari and Leclerc are able to capitalize on Verstappen's evident lack of pace in Zandvoort, they can slowly build up their confidence to fight till the end.