Next week perhaps tenth victory in a row?
Max Verstappen has won the Grand Prix of the Netherlands for the third year in a row after a messy and rainy race. With that, the 25-year-old Limburger has now won nine consecutive grands prix in Formula 1, which equals the record set by German Sebastian Vettel ten years ago.
Spaniard Fernando Alonso was second on the wet Zandvoort circuit, ahead of Alpine’s Pierre Gasly. Sergio Pérez, Verstappen’s teammate at Red Bull, received a 5-second time penalty in the final phase and ended up next to the podium.
Verstappen has now won eleven of the thirteen races this season. Pérez won the other two, making Red Bull undefeated this year. Verstappen’s lead over his teammate is now 138 points.
It was not as easy for Verstappen as the past two years. Shortly after the start of the race it started to rain. The slippery track meant that the well-started Dutchman and most of the other drivers moved in for the more suitable intermediate tyres. The British Lando Norris and George Russell, who had started from second and third on the grid, stuck to the soft tire and paid for it with a significant drop.
Pérez, Verstappen’s biggest competitor for the world title, was one of the first to come in for the tire change. The Mexican, who started seventh, therefore took the lead early on. The faster Verstappen quickly closed the gap and came back to the lead after another pit stop.
In the sixteenth lap things went wrong on the drying track for Williams driver Logan Sargeant, who landed hard in the boarding. He had to leave his car, but did not appear to have any major damage himself. The American had also crashed in qualifying. The safety car came out on track, bringing the drivers close together again. But also when the race resumed, Verstappen drove away from his competitors with conviction.
Charles Leclerc, who also retired from qualifying on Saturday after a crash, was the second to retire on lap 43 of 72 after damage to the underside of his Ferrari.
Eight laps before the end it suddenly started to rain heavily in Zandvoort. The track became slippery and several drivers crashed. Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu took the most damage and was unable to continue. Due to the heavy rain, the race was interrupted for about 45 minutes. At the restart, Verstappen again drove away quickly, now from Alonso. Pérez was unable to hold on to third as he was penalized for accelerating in the pit lane.
Immediately after Max Verstappen won the Zandvoort Grand Prix for the third consecutive time, a party erupted in cafes in Haltestraat in Zandvoort. Hundreds of fans had followed the race in the various bars in the street in the center of the coastal village.
Fans screamed, jumped up from their stools and jumped into each other’s arms. Some danced in the street and fireworks were set off.
The Haltestraat has been the center of the festivities throughout the race weekend. After qualifying on Saturday, 10,000 people remained in the village, many had gathered in and around the Haltestraat near the station. Even when Verstappen took pole position, it was immediately a party in the street.
Possible record next week
Max Verstappen can get his hands on the record for the most consecutive victories in Formula 1 next Sunday. The Dutchman equaled the German Sebastian Vettel at the Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort with nine victories. The next race is the Grand Prix of Italy in Monza.
Vettel started his series in August 2013 at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium. The then Red Bull leader also won the races of Italy, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, India, Abu Dhabi, the United States and Brazil, winning his fourth consecutive world title.
“It’s one of those records that you assume will never be broken. It’s hard to find the right words,” said Vettel when he took over the record after his eighth win. Until then, the longest streak was seven consecutive victories. That succeeded the Italian Alberto Ascari (in 1952/1953) and the Germans Michael Schumacher (in 2004) and Nico Rosberg (in 2015/2016).
For Verstappen, the row started with victories in Miami at the beginning of May, followed by victories in Monaco, Spain, Canada, Austria, Great Britain, Hungary, Belgium and the Netherlands.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl