Video: Max Verstappen’s Formula 1 hot-lap of the new, finished Zandvoort

05th March 2020

Ben Miles

This is the first lap a Formula 1 car has turned around the newly refurbished Zandvoort circuit. And, fittingly for a circuit in the Netherlands, it's Dutch megastar Max Verstappen at the wheel.

Due to a mixture of regulations and a wish for it to sound better he's lapping an old school V8-powered Red Bull car from a few years ago – which means not only is this lap a great preview of Zandvoort V3 (it's already had one refit), it also sounds epic.

What do we find out? Well this is one of the first times we've seen an F1 car take on more than one banked turn since the days when the Indy 500 was technically part of the championship. Not only is the much-vaunted final turn steeply banked to aid DRS overtaking, but the tight fourth corner (Hugenholtzbocht) is too – and featured no run off.

The best thing is that Zandvoort still feels like an old fashioned challenging circuit, and it looks like nothing else around (sure Shanghai has a banked corner, but it's got massive run offs) on the calendar. And if it rains, as it often does near the North Sea, who knows what could happen…

Welcome to Goodwood Elevenses, a mid-morning helping of motoring-related amusement to help break up your day. Watch the last video: Watch Mark Webber’s feet dance as he hustles a 718 Cayman GTS 4.0 around Estoril