F1: Verstappen wins dry-wet-dry-wet Dutch GP

In a race that started dry, turned wet, then dry, then a deluge that caused a red flag, Max Verstappen drove brilliantly to win the Dutch GP for the third time in a row.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

A record 3-day partisan crowd of 305,000 braved the heavy rain and cheered on the 9th straight F1 win by Verstappen, tying the record held by Sebastian Vettel. It was Verstappen’s 46th career win and 11th win out of 13 races this year.

Anyone who did not enjoy this race must have had blinders on. The race had battles and passes throughout the field (over 100 passes), changeable weather conditions and chaos from start to finish.

Polesitter Verstappen put his #1 Red Bull Honda in the lead at the start, but lost it to teammate Sergio Perez who stopped for rain tires earlier, then battled back to the lead that stretched as high as 32.712s before heavy rain and a crash by Zhou Guanyu caused a red flag with 8 laps to go.

The barriers down in Turn 1 had to be repaired from Zhou’s crash and Yuki Tsunoda was another to run off into the gravel down at Turn 1 in his #22 AlphaTauri.

After two laps behind the safety car, the order at the restart with 5 laps to go was Verstappen from Alonso, Perez from Gasly. Sainz, Hamilton, Norris, Russell, Albon and Piastri then rounded out the top 10.

Verstappen took the lead at the restart on a soaking wet track and stretched his lead to 3.744s over Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin at the finish.

Sergio Perez received a 5-second penalty for speeding on the pit lane that enabled Pierre Gasly to get the final podium position.

Perez finished 4th and Carlos Sainz Jr. held off heavy pressure from Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes, who rounded out the top-5.

American rookie Logan Sargeant crashed his Williams for the 2nd day in a row early and finished last.  Many are beginning to question whether he is good enough for F1 and should move down to IndyCar.

Another driver who did not finish was the #16 Ferrari of Charles Leclerc with floor damage. “I think [the damage] was the result of the contact with Oscar [Piastri], it was very strange because it was very little [contact] but it must have touched a part that was very important aerodynamically.”

The Max Verstappen show. That’s what this season has shaped into, and there’s no denying his brilliance.

Red Bull have designed an incredible car, which the Dutchman is in total harmony with, but his teammate cannot touch Verstappen.

Verstappen has won every race since Miami, and the two Sprints in that period too.

Parc Ferme Top-3 Quotes

Max Verstappen

Today, they didn’t make it easy for us with the weather, to make all the right calls. I already had goose bumps when they were playing the anthem at the start. I’ll think about [the 10th win] next week, I just want to enjoy this one. The atmosphere is very special.

Fernando Alonso

It was a very intense race, with the wet conditions we were very, very fast. The car was flying today, very competitive, easy to drive. In these conditions, you need a car you can trust, and I did trust it today. This is a very special racetrack. Happy for Max, congratulations to everyone.

Pierre Gasly

What a race! It hasn’t been the easiest year, so to come back after the summer break, I’m super pleased for all the guys to get that P3. It was a very long race, very challenging but greatly executed from all the guys.

Christian Horner – Winning Red Bull Team Boss

The expectation on [Verstappen], how much noise and support that he’s had – everyone feels that, we feel that within the team. But he’s in the zone, he can focus on himself and get the job done. To match Sebastian, nine straight victories, to do it twice as a team is really incredible.

Race Results – 72 Laps