Verstappen: Good to recharge, reset and head straight to Zandvoort

Once a 2025 Formula 1 title contender and already a two-time race winner this season, Verstappen has fallen away from the lead battle with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. He is 97 points adrift of the championship leader and 88 points behind third, with his hopes of defending the crown all but gone.

Nevertheless, as Formula 1 resumes at Zandvoort for Round 15 of the 2025 World Championship, you have to fancy Verstappen's chances of being the 'fly in the Papaya juice' on his home turf. In front of an army of orange supporters.

Verstappen has won the Dutch Grand Prix three of the four times since it returned to the Formula 1 calendar, winning the first three races at the venue. Last year, he was P2 in a race Lando Norris won for McLaren.

Speaking ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix, Verstappen said: “It has been a good summer break, relaxing and spending time with family and friends. It was good to recharge and reset and we head straight to Zandvoort for the first race back.

"As my home race it is always a special race for me; the atmosphere is amazing and we always have such great support. Driving past a sea of orange when you are racing is an incredible feeling and I am looking forward to being back.

“To mark this, I will be wearing my Orange Lion helmet, special cap and boots. Zandvoort is an old school circuit with quite a unique layout and a lot of fast corners. It will be a tough race and it looks like the weather might make things tricky but let’s see what happens," added the four-time F1 World Champion.

Ahead of Round 15 this Sunday, Red Bull are P4 in the 2025 F1 Constructors' Championship on 194 points, 187 of them scored by Verstappen, who is P3 in the Drivers' standings.

The search for a dependable number two alongside Verstappen continues, with Yuki Tsunoda under scrutiny after a series of underwhelming results. In retrospect, Red Bull might have been better served to retain Sergio Perez instead of firing at the end of 2024. Now he is heading to Cadillac for 2026.

Previewing Zandvoort, Tsunoda insisted he is ready for the challenge: “I’m coming into this weekend refreshed and ready to go. I had a really good summer break, with a perfect mix of rest, time with friends, good food and importantly a lot of good training.

"It means I feel strong mentally and physically for the second half of the season. Zandvoort will be a tough weekend for everyone, it always throws up fresh challenges with the weather and this one looks set to be wet again there.

That, combined with the wind and location, can make things unpredictable on track, but we have been working hard to make sure we can combat that and achieve a solid and consistent weekend. It’ll be my first time as Max’s teammate at his home race, so I think the crowd will be pretty crazy for Red Bull – it should be a fun weekend," added Tsunoda, who is P18 in the standings, on ten points at this stage of the season.