Damon Hill reacts to Max Verstappen's "hairy" moment in the F1 Dutch GP

Max Verstappen moved past Lando Norris at the start of the 2025 F1 Dutch GP, but his maneuver stopped people's hearts, as he lost control of the RB21 mid-overtake. 1996 F1 champion Damon Hill soon shared his reaction to the Dutchman's "hairy" moment on the opening lap of the race, before the 27-year-old recomposed himself to complete the overtake.

The 2025 Dutch GP will be Verstappen's penultimate home race in the F1 sphere, as it will vanish from the racing calendar post-2026. While the Red Bull driver did not have the pace to fight the McLaren for the race win, he gave his fans something to cheer about, as he bolted on soft tires for the race start in an attempt to hound the papaya duo.

Moreover, this gamble paid off as he got a lightning getaway and got alongside Lando Norris. However, heading into Turn three on the outside line, he got sand on his tires and lost control of his car for a fraction of a second. This got him down to the grass, but Verstappen was able to save the car and take away P2 from the Brit.

Reflecting on the Dutchman's scary moment, Hill wrote on his Instagram story:

"Bit hairy😬. But at least he tried!"

Damon Hill's Instagram story on September 1, 2025 | Source: Instagram/@96f1champ

Verstappen was paired with Oscar Piastri and Isack Hadjar on the podium, who finished first and third, respectively.

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Max Verstappen opens up about his P2 finish at the Dutch GP

Max Verstappen celebrating his second-place finish on the podium at the 2025 F1 Grand Prix of the Netherlands - Source: Getty

Max Verstappen's record of finishing inside the top 2 at the Dutch GP continued this year. While the win was never on the table for him, realistically, amid McLaren's pace advantage, earning an opportunistic P2 after Norris' DNF helped him bolster his final result.

Reflecting on the race and his iffy moment on the opening lap, he said in the post-race press conference, via F1:

"I just tried to manage my pace, but that basically meant that it was more of a fight with the cars behind me than whatever was happening in front of me...There is always a lot of sand in that corner from the middle of the track to the edge, but with the softer compound, I pushed the entry. Then I went a bit sideways heading into Turn 3, but it was all okay.

"When I got ahead, I just followed my pace, and that meant that at one point, Lando got ahead again. You could see that [the McLaren] was a different league, so there is no point ruining your own race trying to defend really hard or trying to lose two or three laps defending for your life. There is, unfortunately, no point in that."

Max Verstappen reduced his deficit to Lando Norris down to 70 points after the Brit's day ended prematurely at Zandvoort.