For the second year in a row, Max Verstappen stood on the top step of the podium in his home race at Circuit Zandvoort.
The Red Bull Racing driver flew by the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton on the final restart, and set sail for his tenth victory of the season in the Dutch Grand Prix.
“Today was quite eventful and not a straightforward race at all, we had to make the right calls and it all worked out well in the end,” Verstappen said. “Mercedes were very quick on the harder compound which we didn’t expect, so it made it more difficult for us as we were less compatible with the hards.
“We managed everything quite well and we made the right calls on the strategy so well done to the team here and back at the factory. It’s always special to win your home grand prix but this year I had to work even harder for it. It’s incredible to win again in front of this crowd, we’ve had unbelievable support here and I’m proud to be Dutch.”
The race looked to be in the hands of Mercedes, with Hamilton and teammate George Russell holding strong up front, having stretched their stint on the medium tires.
After another round of pit stops on lap 48 under a Virtual Safety Car, Verstappen held serve, with Hamilton and Russell close behind.
However, another Safety Car on lap 55 put a lid on Hamilton’s hopes of a victory.
Under the yellow, Hamilton stayed out to inherit the lead from Verstappen as the Dutch driver switched to soft tires.
From there, Verstappen would shoot to the lead around Hamilton, and score the victory.
Hamilton would lose podium positions to Russell and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, before ultimately finishing fourth.
“Today we were really challenged with the VSCs and Safety Cars,” Hamilton said. “I think the strategy and the car had been so good up until that point, the pit stops were fantastic, the best I think we’ve had all year and it was really geeing me up. Especially after such an up and down year, we’ve not had a win since Saudi Arabia last year. So, it was finally there, within our grasp but of course then the safety car really didn’t help. But the guys were really, really on it, we were all on it and I really was hopeful that we were going to get a 1-2 together as a team.
“But given how it played out after the final safety car and dropping back, I was just on the edge of breaking point with emotions and my apologies to the team because I don’t even remember what I said over radio, I just lost it for a second,” Hamilton continued. “But I think they know that there is just so much passion and I want to look at today as a glass half full – we came here struggling from the last race and we were fighting against the Red Bulls today, we were quicker than most at many points. Without the safety car I think we’d have been challenging them for the win at the end on the one-stop which I don’t think the others could do. So many great things to take from this weekend – the car was finally working. If this can be the same in the future races, we’re going to be continuing to breathe down their necks and we’re going to get that win.”
It was a stellar drive for Alpine’s Fernando Alonso, who vaulted from 13th to sixth in the running order.
Haas F1’s Mick Schumacher would finish 13th, after making a surprise appearance in Q3 on Saturday. Schumacher’s teammate Kevin Magnussen ended his day in 15th, after making contact with a barrier on lap two.