Red Bull Motorsports
F1
F1 to 10: What really happened at the Dutch Grand Prix
Max Verstappen shared a slice of F1 history with another Red Bull Racing great, winning the Dutch Grand Prix for the third year running to match Sebastian Vettel's record of nine straight victories.
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1. The Dutch GP in exactly 74 words*
Max Verstappen equalled Sebastian Vettel's all-time Formula One winning streak with his ninth straight victory at a rain-affected Dutch Grand Prix, Oracle Red Bull Racing's reigning world champion winning at home at Zandvoort for the third successive year and taking his 11th victory of the season. Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso claimed second place, while a five-second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane denied Sergio Pérez a podium, Alpine's Pierre Gasly inheriting third.
* 2023 is the 74th season of the F1 world championship
2. The Dutch GP in six pics
Spraying the victory champagne at home was extra special
© Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
Max held off Norris and the rest into the first corner
© Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
Pérez's first-lap pit stop call left him in a commanding lead
© Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
Verstappen saved his best until last for a third straight home pole
© Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
3. Max gives the people what they came for
Verstappen unleashed a special lap to take pole on Saturday
© Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
With a capacity weekend crowd of 305,000 people – 99.9 per cent of them seemingly dressed in orange – the pressure was on for Verstappen to keep his winning ways going at Zandvoort, where he'd won from pole the previous two years since the event returned to the calendar after a three-decade hiatus in 2021.
The reigning world champion admitted that he felt that weight of expectation, and while his 11th win this year was comfortable in the end, the way it came to fruition certainly wasn't straightforward. The black clouds that hovered over the circuit when the lights went out for the 72-lap race dumped rain on the track before one lap had been run, and through all of the pit stop mayhem and teams trying to have their drivers on the right tire at the right time as the rain came and went, Verstappen kept things under control.
A red flag on Lap 64 as the rain bucketed down and Alfa Romeo's Zhou Guanyu crashed heavily at the first corner forced a 45-minute delay and a hard reset. Still, Verstappen managed the gap to Alonso once racing resumed for a six-lap splash to the line to send the Dutch fans to new levels of delirium. Nobody was dry, everyone was late to leave, and nobody cared…
If Verstappen's afternoon was relatively plain sailing – appropriate in weather more suited to boats for parts of it – Pérez's had more ups and downs than the undulating Zandvoort layout, an eighth podium of the year going begging after his pit-lane speeding penalty.
The Mexican called the conditions right after Lap 1 and pitted for intermediate tires, inheriting the lead when Verstappen pitted a lap later and retaining it for 11 laps as the field scrambled for grip on a track that was initially sodden but quickly dried out.
Second looked nailed-on for Pérez until he ran into the gravel and clipped the wall on Lap 63 as the rain poured down, and he was in the pit lane taking repairs when the red flag was thrown, falling behind Alonso. Losing a place to Gasly after the flag hurt, but fourth was his best Zandvoort finish in three starts and represented a recovery after qualifying seventh on Saturday.
4. AlphaTauri's dramatic Dutch weekend
Tsunoda ran as high as fourth before falling back
© Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
It was an eventful but ultimately pointless Dutch Grand Prix for Scuderia AlphaTauri, with an injury to Daniel Ricciardo in Friday practice setting in chain a series of events that defined a non-scoring weekend.
The Australian driver, in the third race of his comeback to the sport, broke his left hand in a crash on Friday afternoon, hitting the wall at Turn 3 as he tried to avoid the McLaren of compatriot Oscar Piastri, who had crashed at the same corner seconds earlier.
Reserve driver Liam Lawson was quickly brought in as his replacement, and the New Zealander couldn't have had a tougher task for his maiden Grand Prix with the changeable weather and his lack of familiarity with the AT04, the intermediate Pirelli tires and the circuit itself. Lawson kept his nose clean, enjoyed a dice with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc in the middle of the race and finished a highly credible 13th.
Team-mate Yuki Tsunoda had a torrid weekend. The Japanese driver penalized three grid places for impeding Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) in qualifying. From 17th on the grid, Tsunoda was one of the beneficiaries of the early-race tire lottery to run as high as fourth place, but tumbled down the order after a long stint on dry tires in the middle of the race to eventually finish 16th.
5. The number you need to know
17: Verstappen's victory means he has finished 17 of the past 18 races on the podium, with 15 of those Grands Prix resulting in wins.
6. The word from the paddock
It's always tough, and the pressure is on to perform, so I'm very happy to win here. I already had goosebumps when they were playing the national anthem before the start … an incredible atmosphere
7. The stats that matter
Drivers' championship top 5
Position
Driver
Team
Points
Gap
1
Max Verstappen
Oracle Red Bull Racing
339
-
2
Sergio Pérez
Oracle Red Bull Racing
201
-138
3
Fernando Alonso
Aston Martin
168
-171
4
Lewis Hamilton
Mercedes
156
-183
5
Carlos Sainz
Ferrari
102
-237
Constructors' championship top 5
Position
Team
Points
Gap
1
Oracle Red Bull Racing
540
-
2
Mercedes
255
-285
3
Aston Martin
215
-325
4
Ferrari
201
-339
5
McLaren
111
-429
8. Away from the track
We know Max Verstappen can go fast – very fast – on a Formula One track. But how does he get on with going more sideways than forwards in a 600-horsepower drift car?
Watch what happens when we pair the two-time F1 world champion with 'Mad' Mike Whiddett and the drifting king's pride and joy, the 1992 Mazda RX-7 known as MADBUL.
8 min
Max Verstappen drift driving challenge
Oracle Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen gets behind the wheel of a drift car with ‘Mad’ Mike Whiddett.
9. Where to next, and what do I need to know?
Round 14 (Italy), September 1-3
Circuit name/location: Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Milan
Length/laps: 5.793km, 53 laps
Grands Prix held/debut: 72, 1950
Most successful driver: Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton (five wins apiece)
Most successful team: Ferrari (19 wins)
2022 podium: 1st: Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing), 2nd: Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), 3rd: George Russell (Mercedes)
10. Inside the wide world of Red Bull Motorsports
Manuel Lettenbichler takes his fourth win at Red Bull Romaniacs
© Mihai Stetcu/Red Bull Content Pool
Red Bull Romaniacs – there's no greater all-around test of the best Hard Enduro riders in the world, and 2023 was no exception. Technical skills, physical strength, endurance, navigation – and a massive thunderstorm on day one only made a big test even more challenging.
Mani Lettenbichler eased to victory at the 20th edition of Red Bull Romaniacs to win the toughest Hard Enduro event for a fourth time and extend his 100 per cent record this season – catch up with (and watch) how the German did it right here.
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