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Max Verstappen will be ensconced in a bubble to keep him fully focused for the 2022 F1 Dutch GP, according to Red Bull team principal Christian Horner.
Verstappen has been in immaculate form this season with nine wins in 14 races. He is one win away from tying his personal best record for wins in a single season. He could also end up setting a new record for most wins by any F1 driver in a single season, currently held by Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel.
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The Dutchman returns to his home race this weekend in hopes of defending his win from last year. Max Verstappen is also in a more comfortable position in the World Drivers' Championship standings this time around.
Despite holding a 93-point lead over his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez at the top of the standings, Verstappen will be approaching this race weekend just as he would any other, according to Horner.
In an interview with Motorsport, the 48-year-old was asked if Verstappen would be allowed to ease off given it is a race at home. Horner said:
“I think you have to keep the pressure on, because as soon as you don’t, you start making mistakes. So, we will approach Zandvoort with exactly the same discipline that we have done every Grand Prix so far this year, and there’s no additional activities for Max, compared to a standard Grand Prix weekend. Of course, there’ll be an awful lot of noise around the circuit, but we’ll try and keep him within a bubble, obviously inside the team, and try and manage expectations.”
Max Verstappen has logged in hours on the simulator to prepare for 2022 F1 Dutch GP
Max Verstappen has admitted that he is already prepared for the 2022 F1 Dutch GP later this weekend, even before leaving the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.
The Dutchman dominated the entire 2022 F1 Belgian GP weekend with a Red Bull RB18 that he described as a rocket. Verstappen started the race in P14 and was up in P8 after a chaotic opening lap that saw Lewis Hamilton retire after an incident with Fernando Alonso.
Verstappen made quick work of the cars in front of him to take the lead in the race from Carlos Sainz even before reaching half-distance. The 24-year-old sped away to convincingly take the win ahead of his teammate Sergio Perez, who helped bag Red Bull's fourth one-two finish of the season.
Speaking in a post-race press conference after his win at the 2022 F1 Belgian GP, Max Verstappen said admitted he had done his homework before his homecoming. He said:
“To be honest, I already prepared Zandvoort. I am of course enjoying today but then I go home and I don’t really think about F1 too much. And then I jump on the plane on Thursday morning, I think, and then I’ll think about Zandvoort, and then I’ll drive Zandvoort and try to do the best I can. But yeah, for the moment, I did all my work already to prepare in the best way possible on the simulator, what we think is right and everything felt quite decent. But again, we put the car on the track on Friday and we’ll find out.”
Max Verstappen has also driven around the Circuit Zandvoort backwards so he probably knows the track inside and out ahead of the forthcoming race weekend.
It remains to be seen if the obvious pace advantage Red Bull had last week at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps is present at the Circuit Zandvoort, where Ferrari believe they can have a better race.
