Max Verstappen moved ahead of Lando Norris at the race start for the Dutch GP. However, this manoeuvre stopped the heartbeats of the fans, as he suffered a tang-slapper midway through the turn 2-3 section.With the Dutchman already having three wins on his home soil before, a strong result would mean a lot for Verstappen. The 27-year-old started the race in P3 and was slated by many to make his way up the grid when the lights would go out, owing to his last year's launch off the grid.The Red Bull driver bolted on the soft tires for the race start, which gave him an edge over the McLaren duo lined up ahead of him. So, when the lights went out, he was among the fastest drivers to reach a speed of 200kmph, and moved past Norris after a tough battle in the first few corners, which saw the RB21 losing its composure, before Verstappen gathered it back.His car control amazed fans, as they took to X:"I don’t know how Max saved that holy schnikes.""What a save before the banking," one fan wrote."The way i know everyone collectively had a heart attack 😭," another fan wrote.Fans further shared their appreciation of Verstappen's save:"World champion for a reason," one netizen wrote."He's unreal," another netizen wrote."He is him," a third netizen shared.While Max Verstappen moved past Norris on the opening lap, the Brit moved past his friend as the soft tires soon started falling off in terms of performance.Max Verstappen explains why the Dutch GP is an unreal experience for himWillem-Alexander of the Netherlands on the grid with Max Verstappen at the F1 Grand Prix of the Netherlands - Source: GettyA win on home soil in 2025 appeared tough for Max Verstappen, as McLaren arrived at the race weekend as the clear favourites. Despite knowing his weak chances, the 27-year-old wanted to enjoy his penultimate home race for the time being.Opening up on why the Dutch GP has been a special experience for him, as the Netherlands' royal family was present in Zandvoort, he said (via F1's official website):“For me, it’s a pretty insane weekend. You see the amount of support that you get on a track, and to see the amount of orange… But also, the royal family rocking up to the race. Stuff like that is, when you started racing, something that you don’t even think about because you thought that it was not possible at all."On the other hand, Verstappen has tried out an offset strategy to the papaya duo at the Dutch GP after the safety car period by giving Verstappen a medium set of tires, in comparison to Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri being on hard tires after their first stops. Red Bull has seemingly rolled this die in an attempt to give its star driver a chance at hounding down the McLaren drivers.