Max Verstappen faced a harrowing moment during the Dutch Grand Prix, admitting his massive crash could have resulted in greater consequences. The incident occurred on the opening lap when he lost control of his Red Bull Racing car, hitting the barriers hard at the Zandvoort circuit, amid cheers from a packed home crowd.

The severity of the crash led to a red flag, but fortunately, Verstappen emerged unscathed, marking what may be his last appearance at this event due to the lack of a contract beyond this year.

Verstappen described the incident:

It was of course still quite wet in that corner. As soon as I was going through the corner, I could see a little bit of a dry line coming, and I thought from that point on I could accelerate again, but it suddenly then accelerated a lot.

• He acknowledged, "It caught me out, simple as that. I tried to correct it but couldn't. And then you hit the wall, but it could have been a lot worse because there were a lot of cars behind me as well."

This crash capped a disappointing return to racing for Red Bull, just days after Verstappen signed a contract extension through 2030. He finished sixth in Saturday's Sprint and struggled in qualifying, trailing behind Mercedes and McLaren.

Verstappen noted, "If you look on average the whole season we have been fourth fastest... We're a little bit behind, we want to be closer."

Team boss Laurent Mekies echoed concerns about performance, stating, "It was a very difficult weekend. It seems we have made a bit of a step back compared to where we were before the summer break."

With the season nearing its end, both Verstappen and Red Bull are looking ahead to next year, aiming for improvements that can enhance their competitiveness.