“Damage limitation,” Christian Horner consoles Max Verstappen after failing to win his home race in Zandvoort

Christian Horner consoled Max Verstappen on the team radio after the latter missed out on the race victory in front of the home crowd.

“Damage limitation,” Christian Horner consoles Max Verstappen after failing to win his home race in Zandvoort

Christian Horner and Max Verstappen (Via: Imago)

Max Verstappen tried his best to amass the race victory in front of home fans at the Dutch GP. Red Bull’s struggles disabled any chances of competing for the 26-year-old as Lando Norris soared to the Grand Prix win. Regardless, Christian Horner motivated Verstappen and asked him to chin up despite not being able to win at Zandvoort.

Red Bull’s work on the chassis over the summer break didn’t grant much benefit in terms of performance as they lost the Dutch GP. Max Verstappen confessed that the RB20 just wasn’t quick enough to score wins anymore. However, Verstappen’s race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase noted that the driver did all he could and asked him to charge on to the coming races.

Good job, Max. We did all we could today, heads down, charge on.
Gianpiero Lambiase told on the team radio
YouTube video

In addition to this, Christian Horner motivated Verstappen after losing the victory. Horner pointed out that the latter had a good drive around the Zandvoort circuit but the team wasn’t fast enough. Subsequently, Horner labeled the podium finish as ‘good damage limitation’ as the team still scored solid points over the weekend.

FS Video
Good drive today Max, we're not fast enough. Good damage limitation.
Christian Horner said on the team radio
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Max Verstappen labeled ‘difficult’ P2 finish at the Dutch GP as ‘okay’

Max Verstappen is often visible not celebrating podium finishes when he fails to win. However, considering the Red Bull’s slump in pace, a P2 finish was much better than expected. As a result, Verstappen believed that the entire race was difficult for the team. Hence, the podium finish was good enough for the current weekend.

Yeah, difficult race but P2 for us is okay.
Max Verstappen noted on the team radio
Adrian Newey, Max Verstappen and Helmut Marko (via IMAGO)
Adrian Newey, Max Verstappen and Helmut Marko (via IMAGO)

Red Bull’s slump in performance will grant the rival teams easy access to championship contention. As a result, Milton Keynes must rediscover their pace and return to their winning ways. McLaren is continuously breathing down the necks of the Austrian constructor as the latter continues with their mid-season woes.

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