Red Bull to shut out Dutch GP noise with Max Verstappen "bubble"

Red Bull

Red Bull to shut out Dutch GP noise with Verstappen "bubble"

Verstappen holds a 93 point lead in the drivers' standings

Ian Parkes & Sam Hall

Thursday 1 September 2022 08:00

Christian Horner has stated that Red Bull will keep F1 championship leader Max Verstappen "within a bubble" to manage expectations at the Dutch Grand Prix.

Verstappen arrives at his home race with a 93-point championship lead over team-mate Sergio Perez and an advantage of 98 on Charles Leclerc.

The Red Bull driver secured his ninth win of the season last weekend at the Belgian Grand Prix, storming from 14th on the grid to take the chequered flag by a margin of over 20-seconds.

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When F1 made its long-awaited return to Zandvoort last year, Verstappen was in the midst of a tense battle with Lewis Hamilton.

Asked if the team could "enjoy" the race more this term, team principal Horner said: “I think you have to keep the pressure on because as soon as you don’t, you start making mistakes.

"So we will approach Zandvoort with exactly the same discipline that we have done every grand prix this year.

“There are no additional activities for Max compared to a standard grand prix weekend.

"Of course, there will be an awful lot of noise around the circuit but we will try to keep him within a bubble inside the team to try to manage expectations."

The current generation of F1 machinery is extremely sensitive to bumpy surfaces with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix highlighting this earlier in the season.

Reflecting on the challenge of Zandvoort, Horner added: "Zandvoort will probably be a bigger challenge [than Spa] for the new directive because it’s bumpy, it’s bouncy there.

"It’s probably more akin in layout to Budapest so Ferrari and potentially Mercedes could come back into the fray there.

"It’s just a different type of challenge but obviously, there’s going to be a huge expectation on Max as he returns there as the world champion and with the number one on his car.

"We saw the reaction last year and I think it’s only going to step up again this year."