Dutch delight inside an orange Zandvoort after 36 years
It was all smiles for the ecstatic crowd around the circuit as their beloved homeboy was crowned as the winner of the Dutch Grand Prix and regained his lead at the top of the driver's championship.
Max Verstappen made sure that no one spoilt his perfect weekend by following up on his brilliant qualifying session with an equally amazing performance on raceday. The Dutchman led all the laps after starting on pole and finished 20.932 seconds ahead of his rival Lewis Hamilton.
Hamilton however managed to snatch away the fastest lap from his teammate Valtteri Bottas who finished 3rd with a very late pit stop after Mercedes had realised that they could no longer win the race. The entire decision seemed very harsh on Bottas but in all honesty this has always been the case for him & even though life after Mercedes doesn't always go uphill for anyone, it seems like his rumoured move to Alfa Romeo will do him a whole lot of good than what's happening at the moment.
Behind him in P4, Pierre Gasly had an impressive race after his joint best qualifying finish yesterday having kept both the Ferraris at bay. Fernando Alonso who started 9th on the grid avoided contact with George Russell at turn 2 and used the high line to start well, managed to squeeze in between Charles Leclerc in P5 and Carlos Sainz in P7.
Sergio Perez who had to start the race from the pit lane finished P8, ahead of Esteban Ocon, Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo in spite of taking an extra pit stop. Lance Stroll ended the race as he started it in 12th place with his teammate Sebastian Vettel in 13th with Antonio Giovinnazi and Kimi Raikkonen's substitute Robert Kubica behind them in P14 and P15.
It was a disappointing race after last week's podium in Belgium for George Russell who dropped down 6 places into 17th and behind his fellow Williams' driver Nicholas Latifi. Mick Schumacher completed the standings in 18th place as Yuki Tsunoda and Nikita Mazepin had both retired.
After a total of 6 red flags in practic and qualifying combined, no red flags as well as no incidents on turn one at the start of the race ensured a peaceful Sunday at Zandvoort. However that was only limited to the track as the overall atmosphere around the circuit was absolutely breathtaking throughout the race. Even their favorite's rival Hamilton was cheered by the crowd as they were clapping for him to surprisingly make him feel right at home. "What a race, what a crowd, it's been an amazing weekend" was how he summed it up post race.
Next week's finale of the triple header in Monza promises to be a gripping encounter as Verstappen will be hoping to extend his lead at the top with Hamilton right on his heels, still seeking win number 100.