Calum Nicholas Says Red Bull Lacked the Pace for Max Verstappen’s Dutch GP Podium Fight
Former Red Bull mechanic Calum Nicholas believes Max Verstappen would not have challenged for a podium at the Dutch Grand Prix even if he had avoided his opening-lap crash, arguing that Red Bull lacked the pace to compete with the frontrunners.
Verstappen crashes on the opening lap at Zandvoort
The final Formula 1 race at Zandvoort began dramatically. Although the rain had stopped before the start, damp patches remained on the circuit. Verstappen ran onto a wet section while negotiating the final banked corner and suffered a heavy crash into the wall.
The incident ended the home hero’s race, while Red Bull team-mate Liam Lawson went on to finish seventh and score six points for the Milton Keynes-based team. Lawson was standing in for the injured Isack Hadjar.
Speaking on Red Bull’s official Talking Bull podcast, Nicholas said Verstappen would probably have finished in a similar position to Lawson had he completed the race.
“One of the things that we’ve perhaps struggled with a little this year is when we’re in gusty, windy conditions, the car just seems a little bit unhappier,” Nicholas explained.
“It creates a little bit more work for the drivers and we’ve got to work out what it is that’s at the bottom of all that. But I don’t think it’s a disaster.
“Liam probably had a boring, lonely race. Big gap ahead of him, big gap behind him. But that was just the pace of the car. Even if Max had completed this race and not had the incident on lap one, I think that’s pretty much where he would have ended up as well, in that space between the frontrunners and those behind us. I really don’t think that there was a lot more to offer this week.”
McLaren’s Lando Norris won the Dutch Grand Prix, with Mercedes drivers Kimi Antonelli and George Russell completing the podium.
No Comments