F1 Dutch Grand Prix: Max Verstappen overtakes fuming Lewis Hamilton to win home race
Follow all the reaction from the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort as Max Verstappen wins his home race in dramatic fashion
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Max Verstappen overtook Lewis Hamilton with 12 laps remaining to win a thrilling Dutch Grand Prix - his second victory in a row at his home circuit and fourth consecutive win this season - to extend his lead in the Formula One championships standings.
In a throwback to last season’s title battle, the defending champion pitted for soft tyres under a late safety car and emerged behind Hamilton ahead of the restart. When the race resumed, Verstappen was swift in making his move around the outside of Hamilton and surged to a victory that seemed at risk at points during the race.
Hamilton’s task might have been easier had team-mate George Russell not pitted from second, however, and the seven-time champion was left fuming with Mercedes as he was left a sitting duck on old tyres. Hamilton was passed by Russell and then Charles Leclerc and was furious with his team for being the only driver left on medium tyres.
Leclrec salvaged a podium on what was another nightmare race for Ferrari, as Carlos Sainz saw his chances end thanks to a 12-second pit stop early on.
Follow all the action here with The Independent:
Dutch Grand Prix: Leclerc and Sainz hope to take down Verstappen
Charles Leclerc: “I’m confident for tomorrow, though it’s a track on which it is rather difficult to overtake, so I hope it will be as close as today and that we can have a good battle with Max.”
Carlos Sainz: “We knew we were up for a good battle and it proved to be one of the closest qualifyings of the year. Finishing P3 within less than a tenth from pole shows how small the margin was today.
“I expect a close race with even more cars in the mix, but I’m confident we can fight for the top places. Overtaking may be a bit easier than last year and strategy will play a big role.”
Dutch Grand Prix: Hamilton hopes for ‘battle’ with Red Bull and Ferrari
Lewis Hamilton was hoping for a battle with Red Bull and Ferrari at the Dutch Grand Prix after qualifying in fourth. Hamilton will start behind Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, with Max Verstappen on pole, but ahead of Sergio Perez and team-mate George Russell, as Mercedes look for an improvement in performance.
“I generally feel good,” Hamilton said. “I’m really happy that the car has finally felt alive this weekend. And… only being a tenth behind a Red Bull was a great feeling and really gave me a lot of hope that I could fight for the front row, but then obviously the yellow flag at the end was a bit unfortunate, but that’s motor racing.
“We’ve closed the gap somehow on [a single] lap. I can’t really understand why but anyways. But I am hoping that that means we are closer and even closer in the race and if we are that would be fantastic. If we can fight these guys and have a battle with these three ahead of me, that would be an amazing experience.”
Dutch Grand Prix: ‘Don’t be stupid’ - Verstappen tells fans
Max Verstappen told fans it was stupid to throw flares after one landed on the track and halted qualifying for his home Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort on Saturday.
Verstappen is running away with the championship, already 93 points clear at the top after 14 of 22 rounds, and the race is sold out for the Red Bull driver’s first home grand prix as champion.
The boisterous Dutch fans usually create a party atmosphere at the seaside circuit, but their habit of lighting smoking orange flares has caused problems.
“To hold flares, it’s nice but of course there’s a limit to how much. But to throw it on the track is just stupid,” Verstappen told reporters after taking pole position.
“Just don’t do that. It’s not good for anyone -- you get thrown out, so you can’t see the race, and for us the session is stopped because it is dangerous, there’s stuff on the track, so you shouldn’t do it.”
Soap opera off-track overshadows start to Dutch GP weekend as Oscar Piastri saga concludes
While the weekend action began out on track in Zandvoort, Formula One’s most enthralling summer soap opera reached its conclusion with the news that Oscar Piastri has signed for McLaren.
The 2021 Formula Two champion has for the past month been in the middle of a squabbling match between McLaren and Alpine.
Kieran Jackson takes us through a saga that had more twists and turns than a race itself.
Soap opera off-track overshadows start to Dutch GP weekend as Piastri saga concludes
News of Oscar Piastri signing for McLaren was the hot topic of conversation on Friday despite Max Verstappen’s struggles at his home circuit
Lando Norris says Max Verstappen is ‘unstoppable’ and could break Lewis Hamilton’s F1 records
Lando Norris has warned Lewis Hamilton that an “unstoppable” Max Verstappen is coming for the British driver’s records.
Verstappen heads into his home race at Sunday’s Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort with a commanding 93-point title lead as he closes in on his second championship triumph in as many years.
The Dutch driver’s victory last time out in Belgium took him to 29 career victories, just three short of Fernando Alonso, placing him eighth on the all-time list. Hamilton holds the record of most wins (103) and, alongside Michael Schumacher, has been crowned champion of the world on seven occasions.
But Norris believes Verstappen, in his dominant Red Bull machine, could reach 70 wins within two seasons, leaving just Hamilton and Schumacher (91) ahead of a driver who has not yet celebrated his 25th birthday.
Norris says Verstappen is ‘unstoppable’ and could break Hamilton’s F1 records
Verstappen heads into his home race at Sunday’s Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort with a commanding 93-point title lead
Toto Wolff fears ‘lethal consequences’ of throwing flares at Dutch Grand Prix
Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes boss Toto Wolff fears a Formula One driver could face “lethal consequences” if flares are thrown on to the track at Sunday’s Dutch Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen claimed pole position to the delight of his orange army after edging out Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc by just 0.021 seconds at Zandvoort. Carlos Sainz starts third with Hamilton fourth.
But Saturday’s action was overshadowed when Formula 1’s governing FIA were forced to suspend qualifying for six minutes after an orange flare landed on the circuit just as Q2 started.
More here:
Toto Wolff fears ‘lethal consequences’ of throwing flares at Dutch Grand Prix
Max Verstappen has claimed pole position for Sunday’s race to the delight of his orange army.
Max Verstappen snatches pole from Charles Leclerc in Dutch GP qualifying which sums up season
On the face of it, this looks like a customary Saturday at the office for runaway championship leader Max Verstappen at his home race, securing pole position at Zandvoort on a track notoriously difficult to overtake. But unlike Spa last week, this was tight. The tightest margin of the year, in fact.
Charles Leclerc, 98 points off Verstappen in the standings with eight races to go, had the advantage throughout the final qualifying session. But a few acutely minor errors on his final improved run opened the door to Verstappen and the Flying Dutchman powered through, capturing top spot by just 0.021 seconds for, perhaps surprisingly, just his fourth pole of 2022.
Qualifying report by our correspondent Kieran Jackson
Verstappen snatches pole from Leclerc in qualifying which sums up season
Ferrari’s Leclerc had pole within his grasp before Verstappen nicked it by 0.021 seconds at his home race in Zandvoort
Dutch Grand Prix: What are the championship standings?
Current driver standings
1. Max Verstappen - 284 points
2. Sergio Perez - 191 points
3. Charles Leclerc - 186 points
4. Carlos Sainz - 171 points
5. George Russell - 170 points
6. Lewis Hamilton - 146 points
7. Lando Norris - 76 points
8. Esteban Ocon - 64 points
9. Fernando Alonso - 51 points
10. Valtteri Bottas - 46 points
11. Kevin Magnussen - 22 points
12. Sebastian Vettel - 20 points
13. Daniel Ricciardo -19 points
14. Pierre Gasly - 18 points
15. Mick Schumacher - 12 points
16. Yuki Tsunoda - 11 points
17. Guanyu Zhou - 5 points
18. Alex Albon - 4 points
19. Lance Stroll - 4 points
20. Nicholas Latifi - 0 points
21. Nico Hulkenberg - 0 points
Dutch Grand Prix: What is the starting grid?
1. Max Verstappen
2. Charles Leclerc
3. Carlos Sainz
4. Lewis Hamilton
5. Sergio Perez
6. George Russell
7. Lando Norris
8. Mick Schumacher
9. Yuki Tsuonda
10. Lance Stroll
11. Pierre Gasly
12. Esteban Ocon
13. Fernando Alonso
14. Guanyu Zhou
15. Alex Albon
16. Valtteri Bottas
17. Daniel Ricciardo
18. Kevin Magnussen
19. Sebastian Vettel
20. Nicholas Latifi
What time is the Dutch Grand Prix today?
The race will start at 2pm.
How can I watch it online and on TV?
The entire race schedule will be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1 with coverage starting at 12:30pm. Highlights will be aired of the race on Sunday on Channel 4 at 6:30pm (BST).
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