Max Verstappen's FINAL race at home | Zandvoort bids goodbye to Formula 1 | 2026 Dutch GP

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[00:00:26] All right, summer break is over for Formula 1. We are back racing this weekend with a bit of a somber note. Because this is going to be the last Dutch Grand Prix. We have no idea when Formula 1 will be back here at the legendary Zandvoort. This is basically it. This is the last time Max Verstappen could have a home race if he stays in Formula 1 from here on. The Dutch GP is not even on a rotational contract. It's actually bowing out.

[00:00:53] Other circuits like Catalonia and Spa are going to be on rotation by Zandvoort. The great banked circuit canal where we've seen some incredible races, some really tight overtakes because there's barely any space. And honestly, the most memorable thing of all, the passionate Dutch fans. We're going to lose out on a big part of the Formula 1 culture here by losing out on Zandvoort. Yeah, I mean, here are two things that I would wish could happen.

[00:01:19] One which is already happening is those passionate Dutch fans traveling to other races. We see them in Austria. We see them in Belgium, by the way, which is also Max's other home race. He's half Belgian. As Kimi Antonelli found out in Spa, if you remember, he just stopped qualifying when he got it. He's like, oh, you're half Belgian? And Max is like, I am. And then even Norris's, but Antonelli was not interested in Norris's nationalities. Yeah, I know. So, you know, it's all down to that.

[00:01:49] But so that's one, which is the passionate Dutch fans coming to other races. But that turn three, can we take that turn three and put it everywhere else we can? And I just love it. So, you know, again, it's one of those facts which we've said every year that Zandvoort has been around, that it's designed by the same designer who designed Suzuka. Suzuka. No wonder it's old school, fast flowing.

[00:02:14] Drivers love it. Narrow, limited overtaking opportunities, but breathtaking corners. And to me, the bummer is not that they're leaving Formula One. Fine. It's a decision they took to join a few years ago. And Max's, you know, popularity was rising. I think it was very well timed. Yeah. I don't know if this is a precursor to them knowing a few things that, okay, Max has hit his peak. This is probably the best we're going to have. Let's not hold on to things, which is a very Max thing also, right? I'm at the peak. I might just leave tomorrow.

[00:02:43] I have four, you know, Drivers Championship titles. It's a very Dutch way of doing things. I mean, that's generalized, but yeah. No, they're very direct with things. They're very direct. They'll be straight to the point. No faffing. Well, you're welcome to Norway because I think we're more direct out here as well. But maybe it's just the Dutch and the Norwegians, at least believe there's a lot of common language, words, a lot of common culture. But we leave that for another day.

[00:03:10] But my point was, turn three should just be everywhere, given how beautiful a corner it is. And like I was saying, I'm not disappointed they're dropping Formula One. I know that they're dropping Formula One to go chase IndyCar and NASCAR races. I mean, it just baffles me. Exactly. And that's awesome. I love that. This is how good of a circuit Zandvoort is. We probably forgot about it in the top tier of motor racing circuits for a few years

[00:03:40] because it was nowhere close to Formula One. But now you've got to put Zandvoort and Imola back in the conversation. They are multi-purpose, beautiful, flowy circuits that challenge you. And passing here is going to be tight because, as Kunal mentioned, that turn three, while it reminds you of the Speed Racer movie, you can't really pass over there. And you have that long banked final corner, which is also kind of like a Hot Wheels ramp where you're just gaining momentum. So the only real place to do so is turn number one.

[00:04:09] Or at the chicane that you get in the final sector, which is a very tight place where people can nudge their way up. They have. I'm not saying it works, but we have lighter and shorter cars this time that are narrower to Kunal. So maybe it can. But I just heard you say, my dear friend, that you cannot pull off an overtake at turn three. Well, you can only if your last name is Fernando Alonso. I remember how he's over the years used turn three.

[00:04:37] And I also remember last year how Max saved it into turn three in Sunfoot. And if I remember correctly, he was using low downforce on a circuit, or low downforce set up on a circuit, which is traditionally higher downforce. So yes, Sunfoot, very somber with the fact that a classic racing circuit is not going to be on the circuit. But we can enjoy it one last time. That's the thing, right? We get one last celebration. Enjoy it in Hindi on fan code with Saumil Arora and Chetan Narola. I'm going to be in the Wireplay studio.

[00:05:06] So everyone listening in from Norway and the Nordics will get to see me there. But yeah. So we're covering two different continents, basically. So that, well, that's the power. Yeah. It's fun. It's fun. Great circuit. But the best part is second half of the season begins now. So a lot of things follow along with it. Obviously, silly season is going to become an increasingly bigger story. As we see, there is some pressure on some seats.

[00:05:33] And there are a couple of Formula 2 guys also waiting around, waiting for a chance to get in. On top of that, we also have the big occasion of upgrades, because some teams might bring some upgrades here. Lewis Hamilton is expected to get a brand new chassis. McLaren are bringing some upgrades too. Some minor ones for Mercedes. Honda, aren't they getting a new engine here? Isn't that going to happen this time too? That is happening this time around as well. And of course, unofficial reports. But if they find half a second, then they're suddenly into Q2.

[00:06:03] And Fernando Alonso can be a menace when he finds himself out of position, racing faster cars. He's the one who's able to hold position, destroy other strategies while, you know, thinking long ahead and so on. So lots of upgrades. I think Mercedes has also decided to defer the upgrades. You've got the fastest car, not the fastest power unit, as they claim. But I think the upgrades battalists want to watch. And some of what excites me is McLaren brought a massive upgrade in Spa and Hungary.

[00:06:31] And they really pulled out strong in Hungary. So the point is, will McLaren finally have that lethal advantage to go chase Mercedes? Something Ferrari has done, but not consistently done. And should McLaren battle Mercedes? I think it's going to be the battle of the two Mercedes-powered cars. One works team and one customer team. But also two different strategy teams. Different driver combinations.

[00:06:57] I mean, PS3 versus Antonelli and Norris versus Antonelli. There are lots of various driver, you know, what do you say, driver battles we are going to find if McLaren has made that step forward. So upgrades will also play into the title battle. That is a big, big story. And the interesting part is, will that change the pecking order? Will we see Ferrari come up? Because this, of course, is not a circuit where we have a very long straight.

[00:07:24] I think it's under some 700 odd meters lesser, I feel, at Sanford. So that's a big story in itself. And is that an occasion for Ferrari to do better? I mean, we thought Hungary would be a circuit that would suit them. But it went way, way wrong for them. Could this be another place where McLaren looked good? Could this be another place where, let's say, if we have hot conditions, George Russell or Oscar Piastri struggle? So hot conditions with low grip circuits.

[00:07:50] It's where a lot of drivers are struggling, especially the likes of Piastri and Russell. And one of the reasons why that happens is there are certain driving characteristics that don't work with the 2026 Formula One cars. And some of the drivers, it's just coming naturally to the likes of Russell and Piastri have to work harder with changing their driving styles, as we saw even in Hungary. The most shock was how Norris and Hamilton were attacking turn 14 with a very shallow line

[00:08:19] where Piastri and Russell were more on the racing line or the geometric racing line, as we call it. So lots of driver adaptations. They've been on holidays. Lots of drivers and teams, compulsory holidays. George Russell got engaged! Congratulations. I have noticed that each time a driver is not doing well in the constructors, or sorry, the driver's championship, they go and decide to have a personal moment. So we've seen Leclerc get engaged. We've seen Albin get engaged. Now it's George Russell's time.

[00:08:49] Yeah, Alex Albin got engaged a few months ago, wasn't it? That's insane. I missed that. Congratulations to them. Yeah. So yeah, congratulations. And now, so the point was, yes, they will still have time to understand what their driver teammates are doing differently and what they could do differently. So Sunfoot will open up a lot of the narratives. One of those narratives which I love tracking is, was Lewis Hamilton in the simulator in Maranello just before the race weekend?

[00:09:16] Because as he claims, the simulator is not helping him. And then if he wasn't in the simulator, has he attended a race with a parent? And mostly if his mom is there, because these are some of those off-track variables which are bringing performance to Lewis and so on. But you know, Lewis was hanging out with Kim Kardashian in the summer break. So exactly. That's also more official. And why wouldn't he? So we figured these, yeah. And we figured these two unique nuances, right?

[00:09:44] Hot and hot circuit with low grip conditions will trouble some of the drivers. And then Lewis in the sim and with a family member will actually help Lewis. And if you guys know of other similar driver characteristics, nuances, you know, off-track that help them or don't help them, please write in. Yeah, that's going to be, I hope, less of a factor heading into the second half of the season. I want to see more consistent Lewis Hamilton versus all the other drivers, especially Kimi.

[00:10:13] As I feel at this moment in time, the title hope at the moment is Lewis more than it is George. And that's something that I'm very, feeling very weird about, Kunal. I didn't expect this to be the case. I expected Russell to be the champion. But this is all gone wrong. We're now hearing stories that Carlos Sainz might want to weigh out of Williams and he could be an option for Red Bull potentially if things work out well. Like the rumor mill is properly on. Some people even said he has been contacted by McLaren.

[00:10:42] And now I'm hearing Nikola Solov is waiting in the wings. We could see more Formula 2 drivers join in. And there's so much happening. Like, how do you see the silly season market going as well? Wow, you've actually just laid out a lot of things. Firstly, you said George Russell was what you were hoping would win the world championship. Well, George Russell was hoping George Russell would win the world championship. I think everyone's preseason bets. So yeah, it's going to be a walk in the park. But it's not.

[00:11:08] And it's Andrea Kimi Antonelli on line to be the youngest ever F1 world champion in the history of the sport. And wouldn't it be epic if the race season, racing season ended in Imola, which is also his home race, which is one of those two potential, you know, circuits that could replace Qatar and Abu Dhabi at the end of the season. But that's that. I think you also mentioned about the driver silly season. Carlos Sainz wanted to get out. But and usually a lot of drivers say this to just get more money, which is also fine.

[00:11:38] But but the main the main mover here, I believe, is going to be Max Verstappen. And Max Verstappen has dropped a few hints saying he wants to leave. This is not the formula he wants to drive. They've made changes. But, you know, I think it was in Spy. He said, well, I realize I'll be sitting at home and doing nothing. So I at least go driving cars. Yeah. So should Max stay in Formula One? And it's a two layered thinking process that that that he needs to have. Listen, if I'm staying in Formula One, I can't decide just for one season.

[00:12:06] I should see, you know, what the next one and three seasons bring. So if I want to make a change, I see. Then he has to decide if I'm staying is Red Bull worth my time is Red Bull worth. Is Red Bull still the team that is going to give me at least one race win this season or a chance for a race win this season? And it almost came in Monaco before it didn't come. So the it's a two factor. Am I staying? And if I stay, do I stay with Red Bull or move? And then that will trigger a lot of silly season moves, I believe.

[00:12:35] And that's just where it is. So Max is where if he goes to Mercedes, I think it's going to be a bombshell. And I have no idea what George Russell is going to do. That will be big. Although George has signed a contract and Toto has confirmed that he will stay on for next year. We still know contracts can mean nothing. Although you have to take Toto's word. I'm also now very interested to see more of what happens in the bottom. Like Esteban Ocon.

[00:13:05] What about him? Like, is this going to be the end of the road for him? Is Pierre Gasly surely going to get a contract for the future years? Like, is Alpine sure about him? Are they sure about anyone? Will call a pin to be around as well? It's very, very interesting to see how everything is going to play out, Kunal. And I think now is when it begins. This has kind of become like the Belgian GP in terms of that, right? In terms of the upgrades, in terms of the news. Everything feels like it's the Belgian GP. Like the vibe. Especially the first race after the summer.

[00:13:35] And the only, you know, part which was the silly season. But it wasn't the driver. But the team principal silly season was Graham Laudan was relieved of his duties as the team principal of Cadillac Formula One team. And then Martin Budzkowski, a very, very talented Polish engineer, is back in Formula One at the helm of Cadillac. And to me, we should spend a couple of minutes on that. See, team principal changes happen. Transitions happen all the time.

[00:14:01] But when a transition happens six months into your first ever racing season, and it happens for, let's say, performance reasons, as Cadillac sort of put it. And it was a one-sided decision. It just seemed like an American bulldog walking in and saying, that's it, you're out. And that's probably Americans not understanding what it takes to get competitive in Formula One. So if it's down to that, where we're not competitive, well, you were beating Aston Martin and you showed up.

[00:14:30] And you've had a lot of races where you almost got a point again in Monaco. I believe, was it the ideal start for Cadillac as an outsider? No, because what the hell? Cadillac should be up there winning. But as an insider who knows how, you know, what it takes to get competitive in Formula One. Well, that's a fairly decent start that you have a solid base you build on. So I was very surprised that he was let go, Graham Loughton, the way in which he was. He put together a team, two bases, within the cost gap, with all the political pressure. Nobody wanted them.

[00:15:00] Now everybody wants them. And he was out. So it's probably that. And it's also maybe the American and the British operations finding sync together. And I hope Marcin is able to take it forward. And he gets the chance to do that. Because that's what, remember, we spoke to Otmar and he said, these things take time. You can't just walk in one day and say, I'm going to change this, this, this, this, and you're suddenly winning races. And this is where we find out the true character of Cadillac Formula One team. How do they operate? What do they do in these leadership situations?

[00:15:30] How much time do they give? And how do they manage all these small little things? You need strong leadership to make this happen. And sometimes making changes is for the best. Like I look at football teams like Chelsea and they did initially have the best of managers when the money came in. Jose Mourinho and then boom, it's a separate story altogether. But it takes time. So you stumble upon the right person. And I just hope that Cadillac have found Marcin Budkowski. But then again, you've also got to wonder, right, how much difference can one person make?

[00:15:57] Like what and how much time does it take for one person to really implement what they want? And will that one person get to do 100% what they want given the fear of the axe? Which is obviously a thing that comes up. Like once you know that people get fired quickly in a certain system, you start to take decisions accordingly. Because the first rule of thumb becomes, okay, save my job. And then we'll see about what happens later on. So very interesting. That's very well put, Samuel.

[00:16:22] Because Marcin would know that at the end of the day, the same axe could fall on him unknowingly, one-sided and just down that road. But I mean, yes, Cadillac has had repeated break issues and, you know, several other niggles that probably don't even make it to the public. But that's what it takes to run a Formula One team. Performance is literally on the limit. And it takes time to get comfortable each time you go on the limit. And Checo Perez said, you know, we need to add more downforce.

[00:16:51] And you remember we did this one episode where Cadillac has brought, I think, the second most or third most number of upgrades for a Formula One team as well. So it's not that they were not delivering upgrades compared to the rest of the team. But anyway, Cadillac at the bottom part of the, you know, bottom of the Trivester and the Constructors Championship. And that's where they are. But that's what we have with regards to the silly season. But we should do some seasonal memories given that Sunfoot has, you know, been around for the longest.

[00:17:21] This is a Sunfoot preview. And my most recent memory is Leclerc's overtake on Russell last year at the 11-12 chicane, where he literally bullied his way past through two wheels on the dirt, two wheels inside Russell's side pod and wherever he could find space. And he, I believe, did not even pick up a penalty for that. So very, very aggressive in those wide, you know, ground effect cars where everything just seemed like it was on steroids in terms of size. So that was one memory. What else do we have?

[00:17:49] And of course, various memories of Alonso at turn three. Of course. He just takes it so, so well. But Max's 2021 season, the way he took pole over here, the way we saw the intensity rise up to this moment, which is Max's fourth now. And then him taking pole. Amazing. What an occasion that was. 2023, the wet race. Max Verstappen winning in that one. Wasn't that the first time we saw Liam Lawson in Formula One? And he did very well that day too. So I really enjoyed that race. Yeah, we did.

[00:18:19] And I think it was Liam who got in and then Ricciardo's had a crash, who broke his thumb. Then that's how Liam got his chance as well, I believe. So lots of fun history that's also happened. I remember reading this Prince Bira won the first ever race at Soundfoot before it became a part of the world championship calendar as well. But, you know, beautiful circuit, lots of directional changes, high speed stuff as well. It's always going to be about finding the balance.

[00:18:48] Tires will be stressed as they always are. Smaller circuit. 72 laps, isn't it, Samuel? Yeah. If my memory is right, what else do we have? I mean, at the end of the day, this is banking. And at the end of the day, this is the send-off for, you know, Max's first and best ever home race that we're going to have. And before we get to predictions for Soundfoot, what do you think George Russell needs to do in the second half of the season? So he's got engaged. He's secure on the personal front.

[00:19:16] He's, you know, gotten engaged to his long-term girlfriend, Carmen, as well. What does Russell need to do? Because you said Hamilton is closer to Antonelli in the Drivers' Championship and has a better chance and a better shot at the Drivers' Championship than George Russell. So if you were George Russell, what would you do? All you need to do is win. Win and it will all be fine. Win anyhow. Scrap towards your way of winning. But honestly, Russell needs true pace too.

[00:19:44] And closing up on a pace disadvantage is trickier than you think it is. It changes you mentally. There's a lot of things going into it. Obviously, he had a good comeback on the Sunday of the Hungarian GP, but it wasn't quite the best weekend for him. And Kimi had more true pace. So how does he win when every lap he puts is half a second slower than Antonelli? That's the thing. That's the thing. How do you find true pace? And I can't imagine. You know, I'd love to know from George how he was doing mentally in the summer break because it would have been eating him.

[00:20:14] Right. And remember, a lot of people are saying, oh, he's just not talented. Well, wait a second. In Austria, when he decided to lift off just enough to still grab pole under that yellow, that's a smart driver out there. And he's taken time to adapt to the 2026 regulations, the car. But we also saw Lando Norris take time last year to adapt to the McLaren until that suspension upgrade that came in or the suspension part change that happened. So lots of races have happened. We've had long gaps as well.

[00:20:43] So along with settling your driving styles, you're also understanding different ways of driving the cars, powering the cars, having enough battery and so on. So I'm hoping we see vintage George Russell. To me, it doesn't matter who wins because George versus Lewis versus Antonelli for the Drivers' Championship is more fun than Antonelli just running away with five more race wins and, you know, sealing the deal in whichever race we're going to have in seven races time. And that's what I'm curious about. What happens? What happens in seven races time?

[00:21:13] Who do we see at the top? Do we agree or disagree that Kimi Antonelli is now going to win the World Championship if we have to put money on one driver now? Okay, who was your bet to win the F1 2026 World Championship starting from the summer break? I know things have changed. I said George Russell earlier. I have to go on Kimi Antonelli, right? I have to put my money on Kimi. Are you putting your money on Kimi Kunal? At this moment, I love my money and I love Kimi. My daughter loves Kimi. So I'm pretty sure we're going to bet on Kimi Antonelli. And there is a, you know, breath of fresh air.

[00:21:43] There's a lot of, there's this young kid, cool kid with no airs around himself, walking in, having fun. And he is quick. And that's what essentially matters, I would say. So that's Kimi Antonelli is where my money is. What about you? Yeah, Kimi. It has to be Kimi. Although Lewis now, I feel, is the closest challenger. I wonder. I wonder what George can do. But I'm saying there is a real shout that a McLaren can be somewhere close in that fight. I think this is where we now see McLaren get closer and better.

[00:22:13] That's going to be my story to watch for. Yeah, of course. I mean, McLaren being in the mess is what I'd love. McLaren taking points of everyone, even though the drivers don't really have a shot at it. So I'd love for that. And then hence, are you putting a McLaren on pole or are you putting McLaren on pole and top step of the podium for Sunfood? Let's do Sunfood predictions. Oh, no, no, no. I'm still going for Antonelli for the win. I'm still thinking Kimi wins it. Wins what? Sunfood? Sunfood, yeah, yeah.

[00:22:42] Who's on pole? Kimi. Wow. So you're saying Kimi's going to bounce, come back from the summer break. Congratulations, George Russell, on your engagement. But I'm going to still take you on pole by half a second and then take the race win by 20 seconds on everyone else. Yeah, I mean, I get a feeling I'll put one of the Ferraris on pole position. And it all matters how much harvesting clipping. The FI has not released official notes while we were recording on the harvesting limit that's there. But I'm going to put a Ferrari on pole.

[00:23:11] But Antonelli for the race win. But George Russell will be second and Max will be third. Very interesting. So Russell, nowhere there. No, I just said Antonelli for the race win. Russell and then Max. And then Max. So, Ferrari will be up there in qualifying. How? Like, how have we gone so left field, Kunal? Tell me what field are you playing? I'm saying a Ferrari will be around. I'm saying Lewis will be on the podium. Lewis and Charles, I feel. It's going to be tough for Russell.

[00:23:41] You're saying Antonelli wins and then Hamilton and Leclerc on the podium. Yeah, yeah. It's a bit of a bold prediction. Hamilton has five podiums. So does George Russell. So Hamilton will then have six podiums. One more podium than George Russell in itself. Oh man, how did we forget? It's Verstappen in the Netherlands. He's always great here. Man. Okay, I've said what I've said. I've said what I've said. No, it should be exciting. Kunal's going to be in the Wireplay studio to broadcast that race from there. I'm going to be in the fan code in the F1 broadcast studio.

[00:24:08] And you guys can watch us here as live on these respective networks. It's going to be a ton of fun. Make sure, by the way, you're subscribing to the Inside Line F1 podcast. We'll be back after the race to give a full download of what's gone on. And in the meantime, you can listen to all the episodes we did in the summer break. Now the break is no more. Racing is about to start. See you folks. Take care and we'll catch you in a little bit.