Max Verstappen WINS the Dutch Grand Prix in front of a huge home crowd to match Sebastian Vettel’s nine race-win record as rain causes chaos on drenched Zandvoort circuit

Max Verstappen danced through the rain to take a record-tying ninth straight victory in a chaotic Dutch Grand Prix.

The defending champion, who started on pole, was the star player in front of a boisterous home crowd of 105,000 on wet and windy Zandvoort – while Mercedes completely ruined the crucial early stages of the race when the first rain fell just as the lights went out.

Rain came towards the end, this time heavy, as the race was first suspended due to track repairs with eight laps to go after Guanyu Zhou crashed into the tire wall in turn 8.

A maddening delay ensued, with the F1 shooting itself in the foot. Forty-three minutes – nothing. And then, after an eternity, a rolling start for two laps, no standing start. What a joke. These are the best drivers in the world, yet they are spoiled and the spectator is the victim.

At least there was finally some action: a six-round shootout. Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso was right behind Verstappen from the start. But the Dutchman kept his nerves in the spray to gain the upper hand.

Alonso was second and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly third, after Sergio Perez in the second Red Bull was given a five-second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane, forcing him to finish fourth and languish 138 points behind the defending champion.

Not that Verstappen led the way all the time. That honor fell to Perez for a few laps. That was because the Mexican was used for the intermediate rounds after just one round. That was the best rubber to ride on, as Verstappen held out for another perilous circumnavigation of the 14-corner circuit before being re-shod himself.

When Verstappen came out of the pits again he was 13th and 11 seconds behind his teammate. Not for long. Right foot down. The world champion soon passed Pierre Gasly’s Alpine and then Zhou’s Alfa Romeo for second. Perez zoomed in within range.

While 2.7 seconds back from Perez, Verstappen was brought in for the undercut, to go from inters to slicks on a drying track. Who could say he didn’t deserve preferential treatment? He had qualified 1.3 seconds faster than Perez and was set to take off for the distant horizon, but the heavens would open for the first round of stops. If Perez couldn’t keep at least a decent portion of his considerable lead, how could he expect a favor now? He was up against the record fighter, the one-man destroyer of all rivals. Perez can still put his salary in the bank – that’s his compensation for working on the elbow of genius.

Anyway, the deed was done and, barring the rain, Verstappen looked poised for victory number 11 of 13 this season, including the nine successive wins that put him level with Sebastian Vettel, who achieved the same feat in 2013. during the last of his four title-winning seasons.

The threat of a few strikers and spots of further disruption were mentioned over the radio midway through the race – while Verstappen, Perez and Alonso dominated the podiums.

It was in this race that Mercedes had hoped to pass George Russell, who started fourth. But what a disaster their strategy was in the opening moments. They were so slow to respond to the obvious downpour.

Seven cars – including Perez – moved to the inters after one lap. Others – including Verstappen – next. Nevertheless, Lewis Hamilton kept skating until the end of the third lap. That took him to the back of the field on his late return.

‘We should have come in, man,’ lamented the Briton, who started thirteenth. “It’s very wet.”

Russell was held out for one more lap. Round four. So he fell back to 18th place. “A podium was predicted,” said Russell. “F***, how did we mess this up?”

Good question, friend. The smell of a team in decline is hard to ignore. This was further evidence of the confusion and malaise. You didn’t have to be Einstein to understand the idiocy of their strategy in real time.

On lap 17 of 72, Logan Sargeant crashed, which happens pretty much every day the sun comes up. He rammed it into the wall in turn eight, bringing out a safety car. This stage saw Hamilton 13th and Russell 17th. Credit where due, Mercedes used the break in racing to move Russell to Hard, the only car so started. It was a desperate roll of the dice, an attempt at a remedy, but the horse had already fled with its hopes. He was passed by Hamilton twelve laps from the end and eventually retired after meeting Lando Norris in the final six-lane blitz.

Hamilton finished sixth.

A bad day for Ferrari too. Charles Leclerc retired with a damaged floor after touching McLaren’s Oscar Piastri. Carlos Sainz finished fifth. Williams’ Alex Albon – so brilliantly impressive in qualifying – finished eighth, having started fourth, another victim of being left out too long in the early laps. Ditto, Norris, who finished seventh despite starting second.

With about 11 laps to go it rained in buckets from heaven. It was now that Zhou jabbed his car. The red flag was waved. The final drama unfolded and Verstappen was on the top step, watched by his king.