Verstappen cannot be beaten even in the chaos of rain

In a turbulent rainy race in Zandvoort, Max Verstappen clinched his ninth victory in a row, equaling a ten-year-old Formula 1 record.

August 27, 2023

From: dpa/dl

The local hero triumphed on Sunday at the Dutch Grand Prix in the Red Bull ahead of Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso and Pierre Gasly in the Alpine. For the Austro racing team Red Bull it was the 13th success in the 13th race of the season, which also delighted the frenetically celebrating “Orange Army” on the North Sea coast.

In the first race after the summer break, Verstappen equaled Sebastian Vettel's record series from 2013, when the German also won nine times in a row in the Red Bull. The 25-year-old Dutchman once again delivered a confident performance on the dune route west of Amsterdam and was not deterred by the chaos of rain at the start of the race and shortly before the end, including a 45-minute break after the red flag. Verstappen celebrated his 46th GP victory, the eleventh this year.

The fans in Zandvoort celebrate their “Super Max”. © ANSA / Remko de Waal

In front of 305.000 spectators at home in Zandvoort on the race weekend, the pole setter triumphed for the third time in a row since returning to the F1 calendar two years ago. In the overall standings, after 13 of 22 World Cup stations, Verstappen is still comfortably ahead of Perez (339), who ended up receiving a five-second penalty and came fourth, and Alonso (201) with 168 points.

GP in Zandvoort: The result

1. Mr. Verstappen (Red Bull)
2. F. Alonso (Aston Martin) +3 seconds
3. P. Gasly (Alpine) +7
4. S. Perez (Red Bull) +10
5. C. Sainz (Ferrari) +12
6. L. Hamilton (Mercedes) +13
7. L. Norris (McLaren) +13
8. A. Albon (Williams)+15
9. O. Piastri (McLaren) +16
10. E. Ocon (Alpine) +18

Schlagwörter: Motorsport Formula 1 Zandvoort