Max Verstappen cautioned over 'bogey' issue facing Red Bull

Max Verstappen has been warned by Jolyon Palmer that he will have to endure "bogey" tracks for Red Bull in the coming rounds after his home race at Zandvoort.

The former Renault F1 driver believes the Dutch Grand Prix will be the four-time F1 drivers' champion's best opportunity to get a result for the next few events.

Whilst Palmer does not expect the 27-year-old to have enough in his locker to trouble the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, he anticipates Verstappen will be in the hunt for a first podium since the Canadian Grand Prix.

The 65-time grand prix winner has a strong record at home, with three victories and a second place in the four years since the coastal venue returned to the F1 calendar in 2021.

"I think it should be okay around there," Palmer said on the F1 Nation podcast ahead of the trip to Zandvoort.

"I don't see it being, you know, one of their better... Silverstone coos of getting on pole position.

"Problem is, when I look at the calendar now for Red Bull, I'm seeing a lot of sort of bogey tracks for them, coming up with Monza, with Singapore, and Baku, which sort of played out last year as well."

Like the RB20 that came before it, the RB21 has proven ill-equipped to handle low-speed corners, something the field will face plenty of over the coming rounds.

At 97 points adrift of drivers' championship leader Piastri, Verstappen is all but guaranteed to relinquish his crown at the end of the year, with only 10 events left to add to his two victories in 2025.

"The low-speed performance isn't great on that car," Palmer explained. "They love the fast stuff, and Zandvoort is kind of in the middle of it: It's got a nice flow, it's got some fast corners, but it's also got some more fiddly bits.

"But I think with home support for Max, it's the better track for them in the next few.

"I would expect him to be in podium contention, but I don't think he'll have enough to take on the McLarens this time."