The morning freshness will certainly not have cooled the thousands of “Mad Max” fans who, on a crowded “orange” dyke, the national color of the Netherlands, converge at the same step towards the circuit. Badly embarked the one who would try to go against the current this human tide.
It is not 9:00 a.m. this Friday morning that the official shop of the reigning world champion, located about fifteen minutes’ walk from the track, is already stormed by dozens of customers looking for a cap and other t-shirt in the colors of the star.
A few meters further on, the Mercedes, Ferrari and similar shops pale in comparison…
Dutch flags flanked by the racing initials “VER” for “Verstappen” hung on the balconies, checkered flags erected in the gardens, advertisements displayed along the roads and the dyke in honor of the reigning world champion… c is a whole city experiencing “Verstappen mania”? after a 2021 race which had less attendance due to Covid-19 restrictions.
– “Festival” –
On the Zandvoort circuit, whose name marked the history of motorsport with thirty GPs between 1952 and 1985 – before returning to the calendar in 2021 – the local event, a very solid leader in the championship, knows that he will be able to count on the more than 300,000 spectators, for the vast majority won over to his cause.
“Everyone is here to support Max, it’s great (…) it’s like a festival!” Enthuses AFP Léon ten Dam, a forty-year-old who, if he doesn’t t’s not at his first GP, comes for the first time to Zandvoort. Never had a Formula 1 driver enjoyed such popularity in the Netherlands.
And the praises bloom towards the Red Bull driver: “He is a super sportsman, he likes to take risks, he is a real driver. For him, second place is never enough, he is a real winner” , provides around the Dirk van Vuuve fan zone, orange jersey on the back.
“Did you see his last race? He left everyone on the floor,” adds his compatriot Léon ten Dam, recalling the last GP in Belgium at the end of August, where Verstappen easily won by starting 14th on the grid.
– “Not as exciting” –
If he has no chance of being crowned at home on Sunday, for Léon ten Dam who came on Friday with friends, there is no longer any doubt: “Max will still be champion this year”.
An enthusiasm that Dirk van Vuuve prefers to temper because, he recalls, “it’s a mechanical sport and anything can happen, but I think he has all the talent and the qualities to become world champion again”.
If the games seem already made for the “Orange army”, some regret the absence of battle at the outposts.
“Last season, the battle between Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton was absolutely unique, I don’t think we will ever experience that again one day”, almost regret Bertwin van Dinther, who came with his son. Max Verstappen, tied on points with his British rival, became world champion at the end of the last GP in a thrilling and controversial final.
The deal is no longer the same today since nearly a hundred points – a chasm – separate him from his pursuer and teammate Sergio Pérez.
“It’s a good season but not as much as the last, it’s not as exciting”, judges the father of the family.
But it doesn’t matter to these early fans, whether they’re there for a day or the whole weekend, the goal is the same: to see their hero win at home like last year, before – – most certainly – to keep his world crown.
