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          Max Verstappen breaks Zandvoort lap record during demo run

          Max Verstappen unofficially broke the lap record of the Zandvoort circuit in the Netherlands during a demo run in Red Bull's RB8 at the weekend.

          Driving in front of a crowd of his home fans, the Dutch teenager circled the circuit in 1:19.511, shaving three tenths off the previous record set by Luca Badoer in a Ferrari F2001 sixteen years ago. Verstappen's rise to prominence in Formula One has led to speculation of the Zandvoort circuit, which last hosted a Dutch Grand Prix in 1985, of returning to the calendar in future.

          Red Bull posted a video of the 19-year-old completing some donuts in front of the crowd.

          "It is super to be here and driving the Red Bull Racing RB8," Verstappen said."The V8-engine makes a nice sound -- that always makes it extra special. It is a slightly different car that I am normally used to, but with a better sound, so that is also better to use here.

          "I know from my Formula 3-period that Zandvoort [which hosted the Dutch Grand Prix 30 times between 1952 and 1985] is a great circuit. There is way more grip now with the new tarmac. It is more comfortable to drive on, because there aren't that many bumps anymore, that's very positive."

          According to the Red Bull website's report on the event, Red Bull's engineers "were a little concerned they'd run out of tyres before Max ran out of enthusiasm."