Verstappen secures 9th consecutive race win in Dutch GP

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen has equalled Formula 1’s all-time record, with Sebastian Vettel, of consecutive race wins after he secured the win at the Dutch Grand Prix. 

Verstappen has now equalled Vettel’s record, set in 2013, of nine consecutive race wins which has spanned from the Miami Grand Prix to the Dutch Grand Prix. At the same time, the Dutchman has now increased his championship lead to 339, 138 points ahead of teammate Sergio Perez. 

Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso returned to his first podium finish since Canada this season as Alpine’s Pierre Gasly occupied the final podium position after Perez served a five-second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane. 

Further down the field, debutant Liam Lawson who raced for Alpha Tauri for the injured Daniel Ricciardo finished his first F1 race in 13th. The Kiwi finished ahead of teammate Yuki Tsunoda who had served a five-second time penalty for a collision with Mercedes’ George Russell.

How the race unfolded…

Ahead of the race, rain was incoming. When the pack looped around Zandvoort for the formation lap it was bone dry but once the race commenced the once-dry final corners were soaked. A number of drivers immediately pitted such as Perez, Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo), Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), Gasly, Kevin Magnussen (Haas) and both Alpha Tauri’s.

The race leader Verstappen attempted to brave out the conditions but quickly pitted on lap four and fell down the order as the early pitters took advantage. Perez led ahead of Zhou and Gasly. 

By lap six, Verstappen charged up to Gasly in third and forced a move around turn three to go into the final podium position. The Dutch driver squeezed his former teammate off the circuit toward the outside line and continued on, the incident was not noted nor investigated as the Red Bull driver chased down Zhou in second. 

Verstappen quickly made light work of Zhou, a lap later, but a 10-second gap remained between the two Red Bulls.

On lap 12, Verstappen was called into the box to swap over his intermediates for the soft slick tyres. The Dutchman cut the gap to Perez down to two seconds by lap 12 when he was called in. Even though Perez was out in front, it was Red Bull’s call to bring him their defending world champion before their Mexican driver. 

As a result, when Perez finally pitted for dry tyres, Verstappen undercut Perez in the pit lane and regained the race lead. From there, the #1 Red Bull remained unfazed and cruised off to victory.

Williams’ Logan Sargeant brought out the safety car on lap 16 when the American driver clipped the kerb of turn seven harshly which bounced him into the wall. When the safety car peeled back into the pit lane, Verstappen raced into turn one unchallenged whereas Perez was forced to defend from Alonso. 

Leclerc was the next to retire from the race, on lap 43, after the Monegasque nursed damage obtained earlier in the race. The Monegasque was in a back-and-forth fight with Lawson, for 15th, before the Ferrari pit wall pulled Leclerc into the pits. 

Rain was expected to hit once more in the latter stages of the race, and it did. It was originally supposed to be light rain showers but when the weather hit the circuit the conditions quickly deteriorated. 

Perez was one of the first drivers, after the slick-to-intermediate pit stops, to aquaplane off the circuit. Fortunately, the Mexican suffered minimal damage as he hit the barrier and was able to continue on. Alpha Tauri’s Yuki Tsunoda and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton soon followed suit but avoided the barrier. 

The same could not be said for Zhou who locked up in the first corner and could not slow down the car enough before he suffered a high-speed impact with the barrier. Mixed with the poor conditions and the much-needed repairs to the barriers, the race was red-flagged on the 63rd lap. 

When the race finally got back underway, on lap 67 after a handful of laps behind the safety car, Verstappen cruised to the chequered flag to secure his ninth consecutive victory as Alonso and Gasly occupied the final podium positions in second and third respectively. 

Third was meant to be Perez but the Mexican ran into the pit lane too quick and was hit with a five-second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane.

That’s all for the article: Verstappen secures 9th consecutive race win in Dutch GP!

Read more Formula 1 here:

• LIVE COVERAGE: F1 2023 DUTCH GP
• Verstappen secures hat-trick of poles at Dutch GP beating Norris by half-a-second
• Liam Lawson to replace Daniel Ricciardo for Dutch GP after breaking hand
• Verstappen tops FP1 in first session back at Dutch GP
• Daniel Ricciardo utilised break to build fitness ahead of second half of F1 season
• Robert Shwartzman takes Sainz seat in FP1 of Dutch GP

Give us a follow on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to keep up with the latest news from the world of Motorsport! You can also support us on Patreon or on our website!

Kamron Kent

Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.

I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.

Kamron Kent

Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.