Dutch 'icon' Verstappen out to keep the Red Bull show on the road

Max Verstappen says he wants to give his orange army of fans packing the stands at his home Dutch Grand Prix this weekend a reason to party.

READ | Vettel's record in jeopardy, 'golden' Red Bull: 5 talking points ahead of Dutch Grand Prix

Red Bull's double world champion can equal Sebastian Vettel's record of nine consecutive wins at Zandvoort, the coastal circuit where he won from pole in 2021 and 2022.

"This is one of my favourite places," the Dutchman, looking relaxed and tanned after F1's summer break, said at the track on Thursday.

"I'm not thinking about the record too much. We want to bring the best possible car to the track, and of course, we want to win."

Verstappen's massive popularity in the Netherlands is one of the principal reasons why Zandvoort came out of a near four-decade hibernation two years ago to rejoin the F1 calendar.

Described by one former teammate Pierre Gasly on Thursday as "an icon" of Holland, the man himself jokingly brushed aside any pressure he may feel as the home hero on Sunday, where the majority of the 300,000 fans expected over the weekend will be rooting for him.

"I wouldn't wish that (pressure) on anyone," said the runaway championship leader, before breaking into a broad grin.

"It's great to see all the fans. It's an amazing track to drive, all of that makes it a fun weekend."

He approaches the 13th race of the year in a strong position to join a select club numbering Vettel, Lewis Hamilton, Michael Schumacher and Juan Manuel Fangio as drivers to win three straight world titles.

He leads teammate Sergio Perez by 125 points with his team out to extend their record unbeaten run to 14 races in all.

This dominance has led to talk in some quarters of changes to try to shackle Red Bull's