Max Verstappen wins at home Dutch F1 GP in treacherously wet conditions

Max Verstappen won the Dutch Grand Prix with a dominant drive at his home race in Zandvoort and in so doing equalled Sebastian Vettel’s record of nine consecutive Formula One wins.

After a somewhat frenetic opening quarter as rain hit the circuit, the normal order was resumed as Verstappen cruised to his 11th win of the season for Red Bull in front Fernando Alonso in second for Aston Martin, Pierre Gasly in third for Alpine, his team-mate Sergio Pérez in fourth and Carlos Sainz in fifth for Ferrari. Lewis Hamilton did well to come back from 13th to sixth for Mercedes.

Rain had caused the drama in the opening laps and returned at the close to halt proceedings for 45 minutes as it once more lashed the circuit on the edge of the North Sea some were found wanting in the treacherous conditions, Verstappen, in front of 105,000 adoring fans, was not. He was in control in the wet and dry and even when set back as sudden pit stops were required he cruised back into a lead he would not surrender. He now leads Pérez by 138 points in the world championship.

The victory, his ninth in a row this season, equals Vettel’s record set for Red Bull in 2013. There is no reason Verstappen will not surpass it next week at Monza and indeed extend it even further. Red Bull meanwhile remain on course for a potential clean sweep of victories this season with their 13th win, they have now won a remarkable 22 of the last 23 races.

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Verstappen also continues what has been his own clean sweep at Zandvoort. Since the race returned to the calendar in 2021, he has claimed pole and the win at all three meetings. With nine remaining he could claim his third title as soon as the Japanese GP, with six races still in hand.

Verstappen held his lead into turn one just as spots of rain began hitting the circuit, which swiftly grew in intensity and the grip disappeared, with a series of drivers pitting at the end of the first lap.

Alonso did brilliantly on the slicks to move up to second from fifth on lap two as Verstappen pitted at the end of the lap. Pérez meanwhile had taken the lead having been the first into the pits on lap one and benefiting from being on the intermediate rubber. Verstappen, now in fourth, but on the right tyres set about chasing down the lead, passing Gasly on lap six, Guanyu Zhou followed a lap later and he trailed Pérez by 10 seconds.

The Dutchman was on fire, his gap to Pérez was 11.7 seconds at the start of lap seven and 7.4 seconds by the start of lap eight.

Then with the rain ceasing and the track drying another round of stops began as teams that had stopped reverted back to the slick rubber. Verstappen came in on lap 11 for the soft tyre and was followed by Pérez a lap later but the Dutchman who by then had been just two seconds off the Mexican, had made hay on his out lap and retook the lead through the stop.

Logan Sargeant went off on lap 16 at turn eight prompting the safety car, until lap 22.

Verstappen held his lead on the restart and carried on where he had left off, opening up a second on his team-mate within one lap, with Alonso in third.

Hamilton did well to begin moving through the field up to 10th by lap 33 but Verstappen was once more in control out front with a four and a half second lead.

Pérez pitted on lap 46, while Alonso dropped places with a slow stop. Verstappen came in on lap 49 and emerged comfortably still in front. George Russell meanwhile, who had taken a huge hit from third on the grid when Mercedes left him out in the rain, was benefiting from the team’s gamble on pitting him for hard tyres with 54 laps to go to see out the race. He worked them well and was up to sixth by lap 53.

Yet with heavier rain threatened, the final 15 laps were tense. Gasly fought superbly to take fourth from Sainz as Hamilton moved up to seventh.

As the rain hit Pérez stopped for inters on lap 60 and the field followed him in. Verstappen stayed out until the following lap and retained his lead. With 11 laps remaining the rain intensified. Pérez spun off and dropped a place and Verstappen stopped again for the full wet tyres just as a virtual safety car was called with Zhou in the barriers moments before the race was red-flagged.

After a 45-minute delay to deal with the barrier and for the rain to ease, the race restarted behind the safety car, with full racing under way with six laps remaining and Verstappen held his lead from Alonso. Pérez was given a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane which dropped him from third to fourth.

In their wake, Russell and Lando Norris vied with one another and just touching one another, Russell suffered a puncture and dropped down the field. Out front Verstappen closed it out with calm finality. It had perhaps taken longer than expected but the result had never really been in doubt.

Norris and Oscar Piastri were seventh and ninth for McLaren, Alex Albon was eighth for Williams and Esteban Ocon 10th for Alpine. – Guardian