Max Verstappen is still hunting his first win of the season, and the latest weather report could leave him licking his lips.
After 11 rounds, the Dutchman has just three podiums and two second-place finishes, results that leave his Red Bull and Formula 1 future in doubt.
However, next up is his home race at Zandvoort, and there is plenty of good news.
Rain could hand Verstappen major Zandvoort opportunity
The latest weather reports suggest an 85 per cent chance of rain across all three days of track action, with the event also being a sprint weekend.
Rain is often seen as a leveller between car performance and also a factor that allows the best drivers to shine, one of whom is undoubtedly Verstappen.
In fact, the four-time champion has staged some of F1’s greatest-ever performances in wet conditions, most famously in 2024 in Brazil, where he won from 17th on the grid.
As such, Verstappen fans heading to the final Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort have plenty to be excited about, as they could witness a performance 24 years in the making.
Discussing his wet weather skills with GPblog and others, Verstappen said: “In Belgium and Holland, it rains a lot.
“Probably one of my first races was in the wet. Also, when I raced in minis, we had no wet tyres, so you had to race with slicks in the wet.
“It’s quite challenging, but very good, I think, for your control in the wet.”
How Jos Verstappen taught Max to master the rain
"He was standing on the track at a certain place where I was almost hitting him as well, where he had to jump out of the way because I entered the corner a bit too quickly."
In fact, Verstappen’s wet-weather training dates back even further to training sessions with his father, former F1 driver Jos.
He explained: “I had already practised that since I was four and a half with my dad.
“We would be driving a lot in the wet anyway. He was showing me the lines. He was standing on the track at a certain place where I was almost hitting him as well, where he had to jump out of the way because I entered the corner a bit too quickly.
“But that’s how you learn. You have to go off. You have to understand where the grip is or isn’t. It’s a work in progress over all the years.
“You constantly learn something new, and especially at that young age you make bigger steps.
“Now, not so much, but when you’re five years old all the way until you’re 12, maybe even 14, you really make big steps in the wet and learn how to manage all these things.”