The conditions at Zandvoort were perfect for a great weekend. The track is cool, the weather was good and we were racing by the sea, what more could you ask for? The race was enjoyable, because there was tension in the air the whole time. Nothing really spectacular happened, but the excitement made up for a lot.
At the moment, the combination of Max Verstappen and Red Bull is virtually unbeatable. They have the perfect chemistry, have the momentum and are now a combination like Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes in their peak years.
Beating them would take a perfect season and for them to make mistakes. And what mistakes has Verstappen made? Small errors in Spain and Hungary, after which he still won. Still, I can’t believe that we have two cars that are close in speed to each other and yet the championship is as good as decided with seven races to go. While they should have been within twenty points of each other. Ferrari and Charles Leclerc were simply not ready to take on Verstappen and Red Bull this year. They have lost too many points for that.
I was amazed by Lewis Hamilton’s outburst in the race and especially the way in which he did it. He was aggressive, almost insulting. It is good that he has apologised, but this does not befit a champion. After everything the team has meant to him, you should not speak to them like that. I am seeing a shift taking place at Mercedes, George Russell is quickly developing into the leader of the team. He took the decision to go for the soft tyre himself – with all his experience and championships, Hamilton could have done the same. They decided to go for the win and it turned out not to be the right decision. For years, their advantage was so great that they did not have to take very difficult strategic decisions. They won anyway. Now that they are slower, it is more difficult to make the right call. Then Hamilton also messed up his restart, which is where he eventually lost his podium place.
The match officials did not have a great day either. I cannot fathom their decisions this year, always the Virtual Safety Car (VSC)… It ruins the race and as far as I am concerned the VSC should be abolished. There’s just no point to it. People sometimes complain about the lack of tension, so get rid of that first. In the end, the safety car came out anyway, because it was still not safe. Incidentally, it took an incredibly long time before neutralisation took place, which led to a dangerous situation with braking cars. With the safety car, we did get an exciting ending. It should not be used as a tool, but this is what we want.
Looking ahead to next week in Monza, it is certain that Ferrari will have a very difficult weekend at its home race. Red Bull will be super fast – they are fast everywhere at the moment. Ferrari will be under a lot of pressure. I am very curious what the effect will be, because the tifosi want to see a victory.’
