The Dutchman passed the chequered flag first in his home Grand Prix while Russell and Leclerc completed the podium after late safety car drama invigorated the Zandvoort race.
Starting first and ending first was on the agenda for Max Verstappen, but not without some dramatic late action at the 2022 Dutch Grand Prix. While Ferrari were poised to provide a strong performance at Zandvoort with strong showing during practice, it wasn’t meant to be for the Scarlet red Scuderia who have lost grasp of sustaining a Championship challenge as each race goes by.
Related: Formula 1: 2022 Dutch Grand Prix – what to expect
Mercedes on the other hand were in the pound seat with the W13 showing surprisingly good pace in comparison to the Red Bull and Ferrari. Assured of a double podium finish towards the closing stages in the Dutch dunes, a flurry of drama shook the order with quick-thinking strategies reigning supreme.
Lewis Hamilton was on the receiving end of the opposite once again which dropped him out of podium contention and into fourth position once the chequered flag had dropped. Similarly to the championship showdown in 2021, the Briton stayed out on used medium tyres for track position after the events on lap 55 required the use of a full safety car, the converse soft tyre strategies from Verstappen, Russell and Leclerc soon became the optimal choice once racing resumed on lap 61.
Further down the grid, Ferrari made another blunder which cost Carlos Sainz a 5 second penalty during a botched pitstop earlier on in the race. This relegated the Spaniard to eighth after fending Perez off for fifth on track, in a late scrap which provided some entertaining viewing.
Alpine achieved another double points finish with Alonso in sixth and Ocon in ninth while McLaren’s Lando Norris managed a decent points haul for the British outfit in seventh. Lance Stroll managed a single point for the Aston Martin team by completing the points places.
Here are full standings from the dramatic home Grand Prix of Max Verstappen.
With a tenth win of the season for the Dutchman and a lead of over 100 points, Leclerc mentioned a first world title is ‘looking difficult’ after the F1-75 once again could not contend with Verstappen and his RB18 during his home Grand Prix. The Monagesque further added: “Red Bull is the faster car at the moment, especially in race pace.”
This isn’t reassuring news for the Tifosi, who will welcome the paddock at the Temple of Speed; Monza, this weekend. Leclerc has managed to win at the fabled circuit wearing red in bygone years but it is unlikely to be suited to the Ferrari this time around.