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Max Verstappen crashed heavily at the start of the Dutch Grand Prix on Sunday. The four-time world champion, who came into the weekend with a new Red Bull contract extension through 2030, spun at the final corner on the opening lap of the race and smashed into the concrete wall lining the track. His car spun back into the race track and was narrowly avoided by Alpine's Pierre Gasly. Verstappen had started seventh in the race, which drops off the Formula 1 calendar after this year. He immediately reported that he was OK after the crash. "Yeah that's it," he added. "S---. Sorry!" Verstappen's wrecked car came to a standstill in the road, prompting the race to be suspended via a red flag. Zandvoort's final corner is banked and had been the only part of the track still damp after a pre-race rain storm. Max Verstappen crashes out at Zandvoort 🎥 — Formula 1 (@F1) August 23, 2026 Here's what happened 👇#F1 #DutchGP pic.twitter.com/cu1R80ISZv "It was still quite wet in that corner, but as soon as I was going through the corner, at one point I could see a little bit of a dry line coming, and I thought from this point on I could accelerate again," Verstappen told Sky. "It caught me out, it's as simple as that. I tried to correct it but couldn't and then you hit the wall, and honestly it could have been a lot worse as there were a lot of cars behind me as well."