MOTORSPORT: Verstappen wins at home

Max Verstappen had his work cut out to win his ninth straight Formula 1 race of 2023 for Red Bull Racing, with wet weather turning the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort into a lottery.

An opening lap rain squall split the field, while a late downpour red-flagged the race, as tyre strategy at crucial times mixed the running order and ensured an entertaining race.

“It’s incredible,” said Verstappen.

“They didn’t make it easy for us with the weather, to make all the right calls.

“I’m incredibly proud… even with all the bad weather, the rain, the fans were still going at it, so an incredible atmosphere.”

Earlier in the weekend, drama in free practice two involved both of the Aussies, with Oscar Piastri crashing his McLaren at turn three and Daniel Ricciardo hitting the wall in avoidance.

Sadly, for Ricciardo, the impact broke his hand, with his AlphaTauri seat filled by debutant New Zealander Liam Lawson for the weekend.

Qualifying in itself produced a mixed bag of results, with both Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) and Logan Sargeant (Williams) crashing out of Q3.

Verstappen capitalised on his pole position to lead the race away from fellow front-row starter Lando Norris (McLaren), with the big early move coming from Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), who claimed third from George Russell (Mercedes).

As the field completed the first lap of 72, the circuit became progressively wetter, with a rain shower forcing teams to employ various strategies to pit for intermediate tyres.

Russell pounced into a momentary lead when he passed Norris at turn one on lap three, although that pair were flushed down the order once they pitted.

Sergio Perez (Red Bull) stopped at the end of the opening circuit, which paid dividends when he ultimately claimed the lead at the end of the pit shuffle, while Leclerc lost ground with a tardy Ferrari service.

Verstappen then wasted no time in charging back through the pack, first passing Pierre Gasly (Alpine) for third on lap six, and Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo) for second a circuit later.

Perez pitted from the lead on lap 13 for dry tyres, while Sargeant crashed out on lap 16, necessitating a safety car, which saw the field reset.

Leading the field to green slowly on lap 22, Perez was soon displaced from the lead by Verstappen.

Leclerc retired on lap 42 following contact with Piastri that dated back to the opening circuit, while rain fell once more with 11 laps remaining.

Perez blinked first on lap 61, and received a slow service, while Verstappen’s stop a lap later was much smoother.

On lap 63, Perez speared off the circuit at turn one but was able to continue after a handy flick spin into the barrier, while Zhou met the same fence much harder as the rain turned into a monsoon.

The virtual safety car was called, which transformed into a full red flag.

After a significant delay, a five-lap race to the finish saw Russell go to the pits with a flat tyre after contact with Norris, who then tacked onto a train including Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) and Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes).

At the chequered flag, it was Verstappen from Alonso, Pierre Gasly (Alpine), then Perez, who was demoted from the podium post-race following a 5sec penalty for speeding in the pits.

Sainz was fifth from Hamilton, Norris, Alex Albon (Williams), Piastri and Esteban Ocon (Alpine).

Lawson, on his debut, was classified 13th.

Formula 1 returns next week with the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.

2023 Dutch Grand Prix results:

2023 Formula 1 championship standings: