Max Verstappen has made Formulation 1 historical past.
Regardless of tough climate circumstances, and a discipline that threw all the things they may at him, the Purple Bull driver secured his ninth-straight win within the Dutch Grand Prix, tying the mark set by Sebastian Vettel again in 2013.
That actually make him one of many winners of the weekend, however who else joins him?
Winner: Pierre Gasly
Precisely what the physician ordered for Alpine.
In a season of turmoil, and after a tough qualifying session for the group, Pierre Gasly turned in a masterful efficiency to safe a third-place end, for his first podium because the 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
The late-stage restart noticed Sergio Pérez begin in third, forward of Gasly. However with the Purple Bull driver given a five-second penalty for rushing on pit lane, Gasly simply wanted to remain inside 5 second of Pérez to safe simply his fourth F1 podium, and his first with Alpine.
Making the drive much more spectacular? Gasly needed to overcome a five-second penalty of his personal, handed down earlier within the race.
Given all the things that the group has endured this season — from possession modifications, administration modifications, and even some unhealthy luck alongside the way in which — this was an outstanding drive for Gasly, and Alpine. He began twelfth and located a technique to the rostrum, and if his celebrations within the cockpit, and along with his group, are any indication the outcome meant the world to them.
Loser: Logan Sargeant
On Saturday Logan Sargeant turned the primary American since Michael Andretti to begin within the prime ten of a F1 race.
Whereas Andretti went on to safe a podium within the 1993 Italian Grand Prix, ending third, Sargeant noticed his day finish early. The American driver slid off the monitor and into the wall in sector 2, bringing his race to an in depth on simply Lap 16:
The day had already began to go away from him, as Sargeant was one of many drivers who stayed out within the moist circumstances on the delicate compound. That noticed him shuffle again to twentieth after beginning tenth. However with Sargeant going through growing strain to carry out to safe his seat for 2024, this was not the day he wished.
Winner: Fernando Alonso
It was a fairly quiet Saturday for Alonso, who certified in fifth however was overshadowed by the masterful ends in qualifying from Alex Albon and another drivers. However as he famous after the race, the automobile was “aggressive,” on Sunday, and he fully trusted the automobile.
The outcome? Alonso’s first podium because the Canadian Grand Prix earlier this season, as he completed second behind Verstappen. He was unable to chase down the Purple Bull driver after the late-stage restart, however the second place end will go a great distance in direction of Aston Martin righting the ship. After their sturdy begin to the season, the group had pale in latest weeks as McLaren and others appeared to catch them.
That is simply what he, and the group, wanted.
Loser: Charles Leclerc
If Saturday was unhealthy for Leclerc, Sunday was a catastrophe.
First got here a basic Ferrari blunder through the early pit cease to make the change to intermediates. The groups was not prepared, and Leclerc and to attend a second for the entrance left tyre to get bolted on because it was carried over from the storage.
Then Leclerc’s SF-23 picked up some front-wing harm early within the race, shedding the proper finish plate. That required one other pit cease on Lap 12 to change out the meeting.
By the halfway level of the race, Leclerc was sliding again by the sector, and at one level he even noticed Liam Lawson — making his first F1 begin — overtake him on the monitor. With Leclerc battling with Lawson for P15, the commentary field at F1TV began fascinated about a retirement for the Ferrari driver.
That message got here from his field a couple of minutes later, for his first retirement since Australia. “41 laps of ache” is how F1TV described his day.
Winner: Lewis Hamilton
It was a surprising outcome on Saturday when Hamilton didn’t advance out of Q2, forcing him to begin the Grand Prix in thirteenth place.
On a monitor like Zandvoort, the place overtaking comes at a premium, it was exhausting to see Hamilton salvaging a lot of something from the Grand Prix itself. However he managed to do exactly that, pushing his W14 up into the factors for a hard-earned P6.
One can say that declaring Hamilton one of many “winners” of the weekend for a sixth-place end speaks to simply how a lot the sport has modified for Mercedes. However given the place he began, and the way the circumstances made life robust for the drivers, this was an excellent outcome for him, and Mercedes.
Loser: Zhou Guanyu
Just like Sargeant, Zhou is one other driver combating for his F1 future.
Just like Sargeant, the probabilities that had been in entrance of him had been undone within the race itself.
At one level Zhou was operating on the entrance of the sector, all the way in which up in P2. Whereas that was a little bit of a mirage given how the sector was shuffled firstly of the race, he remained within the struggle for factors all through a lot of the day.
However when the second bout of rain hit within the later phases of the race, Zhou slid off the monitor at Flip 1 and straight into the barrier. It was a tough hit, and whereas Zhou did a great job to get his arms off the wheel — and keep away from a possible harm like Daniel Ricciardo endured earlier this week — it drew his day to an in depth.
And with it, an opportunity to maybe make one thing out of the Grand Prix.
Winner: Alex Albon
Extra precisely, this could learn “Alex Albon’s delicate tyres.”
Albon began the race fourth after a masterful qualifying session, and when the rain got here early he was one of many few drivers who determined to remain out on slicks. That noticed him shuffle to the again of the sector, as driver who made the change to intermediates discovered life a lot simpler within the moist circumstances.
On the time, it appeared that Williams had made a poor strategic determination.
Nevertheless, because the monitor dried out and groups made the change again to slicks, Albon cast on, managing to outlive on that set of softs for over 40 laps, properly past the anticipated lifetime of these tyres.
In the long run, that gave Albon an opportunity to salvage one thing from the day, and he did simply that, with an eighth-place end. With each Haas struggling on the day, that pushes them into seventh place alone within the Constructors’ standings.
A far cry from the place they had been a season in the past.
Winner: Max Verstappen
The F1 gods threw all the things they may at him this week, from drivers in his rear-view mirror to tough climate circumstances.
And he answered each problem, as he does so usually.
The outcome? His ninth-straight victory, and a few F1 historical past. Verstappen now stands alongside Sebastian Vettel with nine-straight wins, the all-time mark in F1.
Up subsequent? Monza and the Cathedral of Pace. Will anybody doubt that he units the file with ten-straight victories subsequent weekend? Most likely not.
