From enthusiasm to scare: Verstappen's rollercoaster at the Rally of Scandinavia

The third round of the European Rally Championship started on Thursday with the qualifying stage and a short classification stage. Verstappen was P15 in qualifying and finished thirteenth in the opening stage Bråtebäcken.

"These are fast stages on gravel. It looks great," Jos said enthusiastically to Verstappen.com. "But the stages are also demanding, you need a lot of confidence. There is less grip than we expected, but it is very nice and educational to drive here."

Eight stages were on the program on Friday, divided over four unique stages. The conditions were challenging, with light rain in the morning. In Grönlund and Värmskog, Verstappen had a hard time.

During the second run over the same stages, things went a little better: “I feel a bit more grip and that gives me a bit more confidence. It went a lot better than the first time. We adjusted the set-up of the car, such as the suspension. That feels better."

In the afternoon, the track dried out slightly, to no avail. “It was still very difficult. There are no racing lines yet and there is a lot of loose gravel,” Verstappen said.

About the infamous jump on Collins he said: “During the rally in Hungary we landed with the car on the nose, I wanted to avoid that. But the jump was good. We had some moments in a tight corner, with oversteer because it was very slippery, but it was a nice stage.”

After a neat P15 on the second pass through Gårdsjö, disaster struck on Colins. “I feel like we don’t have enough traction. It doesn’t feel like I want it to. It was still very slippery,” Verstappen said shortly before the crash.

Halfway through the stage, the rear wheels of the Skoda got caught in the loose gravel just next to the track, resulting in the car flipping over.

Verstappen and Jamoul were able to get out unharmed and hope to continue their rally adventure on Saturday.