Before the race, Verstappen explained, among other things, how shifting with the levers behind the wheel works. His father Jos and team boss Christian Horner of Red Bull also met Willem-Alexander, Máxima and the princesses Amalia and Ariane.
The royal family then walked through the pit lane under the guidance of circuit director Robert van Overdijk. Willem-Alexander and Máxima, who wears a long orange skirt, waved enthusiastically to the audience in the main stand and on the terraces above the pit boxes.
The race on the Zandvoort circuit started at 3 p.m. The 70,000 frenzied spectators saw Max Verstappen start from pole position, after the Dutch driver of Red Bull Racing was narrowly faster than Lewis Hamilton in qualifying yesterday. Formula 1 returned to Zandvoort for the first time in 36 years.
The king was also present at the qualification the day before. He then saw Verstappen take pole position. Prince Bernhard, a cousin of Willem-Alexander, is co-owner of the circuit in the North Holland dunes.
Verstappen got on an open truck after his meeting in the pits with the royal family on Sunday afternoon. Together with the other drivers, he was driven past the packed grandstands on the circuit. When introducing the drivers, the biggest applause was obvious for Verstappen. The Dutchman waved to his tens of thousands of fans in the stands and filmed the full stands with a small camera.
Australian Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) also received a lot of applause from the audience. The former teammate of Verstappen wore a cheer cape from a large Dutch supermarket. These capes are awarded to all visitors in Zandvoort.
Watch our videos about Formula 1 below.
