The lion is at home, Max Verstappen dominates the first free practice session and lets Norris overtake him by 23 thousandths in the second session. But having returned from holidays in Sardinia, the reigning champion has not lost even one iota of the hunger that has characterized him since the beginning of the season. He knows he is the strongest but wants to continually improve, Verstappen's opponent is called Max.
The pressure of the nation
For every F1 driver, winning the home grand prix is always a dream, surrounded by compatriots, at home victory is more tempting. Winner of the Dutch Grand Prix already twice in 2021 and 2022, he certainly doesn't want to interrupt his winning streak in his homeland.
“It's fantastic to see all the orange stands and even between sessions it's great to see them partying”
Verstappen and the RB19, one and the same
Red Bull chooses to bring a Zandvoort a high-load single-seater, optimal for a track like this that puts both the car and the driver to the test. Max, however, seems to be one with his car which follows him perfectly, he gives us a long run at the end of the first free practice this morning and complains about a "strangeness" on the car, for the rest he dances with his Rb19, these are his words:
"Just some balance issues but we're trying to fix it, I think the car has great potential to have a good performance tomorrow we just need to optimize some things"

The weekend at home
What to expect from this weekend at home? Max's goal is always the same: win, win and win. Are the Mclarens scared by finishing ahead of the Dutchman?
“The Mclarens did very well” , so much so that the first half of the second session was won by Lando Norris "they went well with all the compounds, we know that there are some teams that can be dangerous opponents in qualifying, we'll see if they will be there too"