Max Verstappen admits he was under pressure to win in front of his home fans at Dutch GP this year

Max Verstappen revealed that the Dutch GP was perhaps the race where he felt the most pressure to win in 2023.

Max Verstappen admits he was under pressure to win in front of his home fans at Dutch GP this year

Max Verstappen (via IMAGO)

Max Verstappen has been regarded as one of the greatest drivers in Formula 1, purely due to his performance in the 2023 season. After winning 19 out of the 22 races, Verstappen has revealed the race where he felt ‘pressured’ to manage a victory under his belt.

The 28-year-old emerged victorious at the Dutch GP despite the difficult conditions on the track. Verstappen highlighted how Zandvoort’s track conditions were difficult to win in, even for the reigning world champion. Racing on slick tires in wet conditions was something difficult for the Dutchman. Max Verstappen mentioned the dangers of going off the track and potentially losing crucial points due to such a mistake.

It has a lot to do with track conditions or whatever. For example, the race in Zandvoort, when you're driving on slicks and it's raining. I normally enjoy driving in the wet, but I also know that I'm leading the championship and if I go off and I'm stuck you lose a lot of points.
Verstappen said, as reported by racingnews365.com.
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Verstappen further opened up about the race and talked about how he felt under pressure to manage a victory at the difficult circuit of Zandvoort. Although the drivers drive a bit under the limit in a rainy race, the conditions are still dangerous enough to mess up the race for the driver.

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Naturally, you're always driving a little bit under the limit, but that can be, in a way, dangerous as well. So when I was out there [Dutch GP] on slicks, you feel a bit pressured. Sometimes there are people behind you that are a bit faster, because they have nothing to lose.

Max Verstappen revealed his most enjoyable race in the 2023 season

Max Verstappen had a plethora of options in terms of choosing his favorite winning race. The Dutchman named a couple of races as his favorite from the 19 total races that he won. He exclaimed that his win in Miami was enjoyable as he was followed by his teammate Sergio Perez in a close second as well, bringing the team a 1-2 finish.

Max Verstappen winning the Dutch GP.
Max Verstappen winning the Dutch GP (via F1)

In addition to this, Verstappen even labeled the Spa or the Belgian GP and his home race Dutch GP as his favorite circuits to win this year. The dominating world champion enjoyed the Japanese GP immensely, as Red Bull secured the constructor’s championship at Suzuka.

Max Verstappen has single-handedly carried out one of the best seasons ever for a single driver, as well as for the team. As the team did not look too hopeful of creating a replica of this season’s performance, Verstappen still aims at scoring similar if not better results in the following season of Formula 1.

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