Verstappen looks forward to Zandvoort: 'The fans are incredible'

For the past few weeks, Verstappen had been out of the spotlight. He enjoyed holidays in Portugal, including with his girlfriend Kelly Piquet. At peace and under a bright sun, the Dutchman focused on the second half of the season, in which Verstappen hopes to secure his fourth consecutive drivers' title. He went into the break with a seemingly comfortable margin to Lando Norris, and in the coming weeks, he wants to at least maintain it.

Verstappen hopes to fight for the win at Zandvoort

In an outlook from his team, Verstappen states, "It was good to spend some time relaxing with family and friends over the summer break and we are feeling refreshed and ready for the second half of the season. It is great to start it back at my home race; it is always a fantastic atmosphere, and the fans are incredible, so it is a special one for me. It is a great circuit, with its short straights and narrow track and hopefully we can come back even stronger for this race. We are looking forward to the week ahead and hopefully we can be fighting for the win."

For the win, Verstappen will probably have to deal with McLaren and possibly Mercedes first. These teams showed strength in the final weeks before the summer break. Meanwhile, at Red Bull Racing, on the contrary, things were a lot more difficult.

This article has been written in collaboration with Matt Gretton