Verstappen stormed past Lewis Hamilton in the closing stages after several safety car theatre to send the a hundred, 000 Dutch enthusiasts into a frenzy with Zandvoort.
The 24-year-old has been greeted by fruit flares and an ocean of orange t-shirts as he crossed the finish line to state his second directly victory at the Nederlander Grand Prix.
Mercedes’ George Russell equaled his best finish in F1 with a faraway second place plus Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc came in third, making Hamilton to finish the disappointing fourth after it looked for some time he might challenge Verstappen for the win.
“It had not been a straightforward race yet we had to force, ” Verstappen told Sky Sports after the race. “Of course with basic safety car, virtual security car, making the proper calls.
“It’s constantly special to win your home grand tarifs. This year I had to work for it even more. An incredible weekend and I’m really happy we won the Nederlander Grand Prix. I’m proud to be Nederlander. ”
Safety car confusion
After a relatively straightforward begin to the race, the bizarre series of activities began to unfold upon lap 45, as Yuki Tsunoda brought his car to some stop at the side of the track, seemingly worried that one of his tires was loose.
With a safety car imminent, Tsunoda has been told by his team that their tires were fine and the Japanese drivers continued his competition, only to slowly make his way to the pit lane. The AlphaTauri pit crew checked Tsunoda’s wheels and his seat belt, before deciding everything was in working order plus sent their guy back out to competition.
However , almost immediately, Tsunoda once again felt some thing was wrong with his car and was finally told by his team to prevent on the track.
The digital safety allowed Reddish colored Bull, AlphaTauri’s mother or father team, to save beneficial seconds while Verstappen came into the pits for a fresh group of tires and allow the Dutchman to reemerge still in the guide and ahead of Hamilton and Russell.
That wasn’t the end of the episode, though, as engine trouble forced Valtteri Bottas to bring their Alfa Romeo to some stop on the primary straight, causing the protection car to be deployed.
Mercedes initially kept both Hamilton and Russell out on the monitor, while Red Bull brought Verstappen into the pits for another set of new tires, causing him to drop to third.
But Russell did come into the pits after requesting clean tires, allowing Verstappen a clear run with Hamilton and a simple overtake once the protection car went back within and the racing resumed.
After seeing his teammate pass him right after, a furious Hamilton berated his team over the radio. “I can’t believe just how much you guys f**king me, ” he or she said.
“Sorry about that Lewis, ” Hamilton’s competition engineer, Pete Bonnington, told his operater after the race, per Sky Sports. “It was looking good but we’ll sit down and review decisions that people made there. ”
Which will come as little convenience, though, as Hamilton still awaits his first race earn of the season.
Verstappen’s triumph extends his direct at the top of the driver’s standings to 109 points. With 7 races remaining this season, it would take some thing remarkable to prevent him from claiming his second consecutive F1 title.