Max Verstappen explains Dutch GP near-miss: “I tried to send it"

Max Verstappen explains his scary moment of oversteer on the first lap of the Dutch GP

Max Verstappen finished second in front of his home crowd at the 2025 Dutch Grand Prix, but not without putting up a fight for a place on the podium. During the first lap, the reigning champion countered a moment of oversteer as he attempted to push through the leading McLarens. Reflecting on the race, he was happy with his result.

The Red Bull driver started third on the grid after qualifying almost three-tenths behind polesitter Oscar Piastri. He was rewarded with a DNF from Lando Norris, caused by an oil leak, leaving him and Isack Hadjar rounding out the podium.

"It wasn't easy. I gave it everything at the start to move forward. A little moment in Turn 2.

"But after that, we just had to do our own race. Unfortunately, we didn't have the pace of the McLarens. Then we got a bit lucky with one retiring.

"But in general, to be on the podium here is a great result. So to be in second, I think it's a really, really good achievement for us."

Lando Norris, McLaren, Oscar Piastri, McLaren, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Clive Rose / Getty Images

He continued with an explanation of what caused a slide that nearly saw him lose control of the RB21. Fortunately for the driver, he expertly controlled the oversteer and maintained his place behind the McLaren machinery, rapidly finding himself on the gearbox of Norris.

"Yeah, I tried to send it into Turn 3, but unfortunately, there was too much sand in Turn 2 from the middle of the track to the outside," Verstappen explained. "I knew that we had the softer compounds, so I tried to make it work on that first lap."

The four-time champion successfully passed Norris during the opening section of the race, fully utilising the soft compounds before they quickly started to fall off. The McLaren driver eventually got past his rival, but a power unit failure allowed the Dutchman to regain his place behind the championship leader.

With his Orange Army cheering for their driver, Verstappen finished with some words of thanks for the untiring support.

"The whole weekend has been incredible again. So much orange and support. And yes, it's always very special to drive here and of course to be on the podium here," he finished.