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Max Verstappen reveals driver error was the cause of his Lap 1 crash at the Dutch GP as the four-time Formula 1 world champion takes responsibility for being too eager on the throttle. Fans were stunned to see the 28-year-old 71-time Grand Prix winner find the wall coming out of Turn 14 in what was a huge impact, sending his car skidding back across the Zandvoort circuit. Hitting the pit wall before coming to a stop, the suspension was demolished and his final ever home race was over before he completed a racing lap – a bitterly disappointing end to his time in the Netherlands. And it was particularly disappointing because the track was in tricky conditions after rain had fallen in the build-up to lights out, which is usually a climate that the Dutchman excels in. Known for his skills when it comes to feeling the limit of grip, mixed-condition racing is usually a situation in which he is faster than all of the cars behind him and can slice his way through the field. Fans will remember his performances at the 2019 German GP, the 2022 Japanese GP and the 2024 Sao Paulo GP as more recent examples of what he can do when the wet weather arrives. More from the Dutch GP Catch up with Total Motorsport’s latest Dutch GP coverage, including Lando Norris’ dramatic victory at Zandvoort, the full race classification, Max Verstappen’s Lap 1 crash, and the latest on Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari future. But on this occasion, Verstappen freely admits it was his own mistake as he reveals the cause of his Lap 1 crash at the Dutch GP was simply being too ambitious as he pushed out of Turn 14. “I think the start is just a consequence of what is happening on the right,” Verstappen told media, including Total-Motorsport.com. “It’s OK, it can happen. “And then, yeah, I got caught out. It was still quite wet in that corner, and then as soon as I saw the dry patch coming, I was like, ‘Now you can accelerate.’ “But clearly that didn’t work, so probably it was still a bit too early.” Verstappen: Podium fight wasn’t possible Verstappen had qualified in seventh, over half-a-second off the pace but only a tenth or so ahead of his new Red Bull teammate Liam Lawson in the sister RB22 package on Saturday. Given Lawson eventually finished the race in seventh but 70 seconds behind the pace of McLaren’s race-winning Lando Norris prior to the application of a 10-second time penalty, Red Bull did not seem fast. And even Verstappen, with his extensive experience of how to handle and manage the RB22, would have likely fared better – he doesn’t believe he had much of a chance of challenging the front. “I think overall we had a disappointing weekend pace-wise,” Verstappen added. “We just couldn’t really fight with the guys, so that’s probably the most disappointing part. “But of course, I wish that I could have done a little bit more in the race, but looking at the pace that we are showing, I don’t think it was really possible anyway. “But yeah, still would have liked to race, so I would have liked to try and done a good job. But hopefully in Monza [Italian GP] we can be a little bit more competitive.” With Oscar Piastri finishing 32 seconds behind Norris, a good result would have likely been sixth, but Verstappen’s view suggests he would not have been able to challenge Kimi Antonelli, George Russell, Lewis Hamilton or Charles Leclerc for the podium.