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![Verstappen responds 'realistically' to chances at Zandvoort GP](https://webp.gp.cdn.pxr.nl/news/2024/08/22/284b50cadf5233abe775af1eeb62ab22627b3403.jpg?width=1800)
Verstappen on possibilities at Zandvoort: 'Have to be realistic'
- Jeroen Immink
Max Verstappen, in his 200th race in Formula 1, will be hunting for his fourth home win in a row. But unlike in recent years, with a Formula 1 field that is tightly packed, it will not be any easier. During the press conference at Zandvoort, Verstappen explained.
Verstappen 'realistic' about chances at Zandvoort
Of the past five races, Verstappen managed to win only one - the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona. Throughout the 2024 season - in which the Dutchman and Red Bull started off strong - competition from McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari has been increasing. This eventually resulted in as many as seven different winners in the first half of the 2024 season.
"I mean you just have to be realistic," Verstappen revealed at the press conference. "If you can win the race of course you go for it. If you don't have a chance then it's very simple. You don't deserve to win. You move on and you try to do better," the Dutchman said.
Last season, Verstappen was unbeatable. Even at Zandvoort, nothing seemed to stand in his way, but this year that situation is different. "So for me we just have to wait and see where we are throughout the week. And I also don't know of course, let's say last year coming here I was a lot more confident that we had a big chance of winning the race, but that's how the season is already. It's a lot more competitive and from our side I think we're still trying to improve, trying to find a better car balance and hopefully we can start here to find a better balance," Verstappen added. Should Verstappen still take the win, he would equal with racing legend Jim Clark in terms of most wins in Zandvoort.
This article was written in collaboration with Kada Sarkozi
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