Max Verstappen wins Dutch Grand prix: 'Very special to win home race'

Published on 04 September 2022 by Kees-Jan Koster

Max Verstappen won the Dutch Grand Prix for the second year in a row. Max started the race from pole and stayed in the lead unthreatened during the first phase of the race in front of a frantic home crowd on Zandvoort Circuit. But because the Mercedes were on a different strategy, he had to fight for it. A Safety Car late in the race brought Verstappen right back behind Hamilton, and the Dutchman overtook the Brit in the restart and went on to win his home race four seconds ahead of George Russell. To make the weekend perfect, Max also took the point for fastest lap. Charles Leclerc completed the podium, behind him Lewis Hamilton in P4 and Sergio Perez in P5.

After the race, Max says under loud cheering of the crowd: “It is amazing to win this race again. It is always special to win your home race. That was the same last year, but this time I had to fight for it. It was not an easy race. We had to push hard, but we made the right calls during the VSC and Safety cars. It is always a question mark, but in the end, it went well and when we changed back to the soft tyres, we had a great pace again.”

During the Safety Car Max gave up the lead to go on soft tyres, while Hamilton decided to stay out on used medium tyres. Verstappen explains this strategy: “Before the Safety Car I thought we could go to the end on the hard tyres, even though we were a bit slower. But when the Safety Car came out, I knew we could not stay ahead if we did not make a pitstop. We changed to soft tyres, falling back into P3. But when George also pitted, I was in P2 for the restart. We timed it really well in the last corner at the banking. I had a good run on Hamilton and we have a bit more top speed, so that helped to overtake in the first corner. We were back in the lead and had a really good balance in the car.”

After two perfect weekends in Spa and Zandvoort, next week will be the Italian Grand Prix already. Max is also hopeful for this race: “We will try to win, that is the goal. I think Monza is a better circuit for us than Zandvoort, in terms of setup and aerodynamics of the car, so I am looking forward to seeing what we can do there.”

Finally Max has a special word of thanks for his fans, who had come in large numbers to Zandvoort Circuit: “It was an amazing weekend. Thank you for the amazing support. I am so happy for everyone who came to support me, and I am proud to be a Dutchman.”

It is cloudy and a bit cooler than previous days on Zandvoort Circuit, where more than 100,000 fans in orange have created a fabulous atmosphere. Verstappen, Leclerc and Sainz start the race on the soft tyre compound, while Hamilton in P4 is the first to start on the medium tyres. Max has a good start from pole and goes immediately to the right so he can enter the Tarzan turn in front of Leclerc. Sainz and Hamilton touch in the first corner, but both can continue without issues.

While everyone gets unharmed through the first lap, it is Kevin Magnussen who goes through the gravel in the Gerlach turn in lap two. The Haas driver grazes the barriers but can continue. Sainz and Perez are the first to pit in lap fifteen. After a very quick stop, Perez drives over a Ferrari wheel gun, and Sainz’ stop takes more than twelve seconds, causing the Spaniard to fall right back.

Leclerc makes his first pitstop in lap eighteen, and leader Verstappen follows one lap later. Max changes from the soft tyres to the medium compound tyres, he comes back out on track in P3, behind both Mercedes of Hamilton and Russell, who still need to pit. Verstappen closes in fast on Russell and the Dutchman overtakes the Mercedes driver in lap 28. Max goes on a hunt for Hamilton, but Hamilton pits in lap 30, before Max gets the chance to overtake the Mercedes driver. Hamilton changes to hard tyres on which he wants to finish the race, making only one pitstop. Teammate Russell does the same one lap later. Verstappen has taken the lead again, well ahead of Leclerc and Perez.

Hamilton is quick on his new tyres and in lap 36 he makes his first attempt to overtake Perez for P3. The Mexican parries that first attack, but one lap later the Mercedes driver overtakes Perez. Not much later Perez is also overtaken by Russell and in lap 41 he decides to come in for his second pitstop. With a new set of hard tyres, the Red Bull driver comes back out in seventh position.

Yuki Tsunoda stops next to the track in lap 45. The Japanese driver thinks a tyre is not mounted correctly after his pitstop. The team of AlphaTauri tells him over the radio that all is okay, and he should continue. After pitting again to reattach his belt, Tsunoda must stop the car with a technical issue after exiting the pitlane. A Virtual Safety Car follows, and Verstappen seizes the opportunity to make his second pitstop. A new set of hard tyres is mounted to his RB18, and Verstappen comes back out on track in the lead. Both Mercedes also make a pitstop, but change to the medium compound tyres. When the race is resumed the gap between Verstappen and Hamilton is almost twelve seconds.

Valtteri Bottas comes to a halt on the start-finish straight in lap 55, because of technical issues. The Safety Car comes out, and Max decides to make a third pitstop. Verstappen changes to a set of soft tyres and is in P2 for the restart, behind Lewis Hamilton who did not change tyres during the Safety Car.

At the restart Verstappen immediately gets next to Hamilton and easily overtakes him before entering the first corner. Contrary to his teammate, Russel did change to soft tyres during the Safety Car. On much faster tyres Russell overtakes Hamilton for P2. Hamilton is also overtaken by Leclerc for third position not much later.

Max Verstappen wins the Dutch Grand Prix for the second year in a row, four seconds ahead of George Russell in P2. It is the tenth Grand Prix victory for Verstappen this year, matching the total number of wins last season. Besides the 25 points for the win Max also takes the point for fastest lap, bringing his lead in the championship to 109 points over Leclerc and teammate Perez. A disappointed Hamilton finishes in fourth position. Perez finishes fifth, with behind him Fernando Alonso and Lando Norris in P6 and P7. Carlos Sainz comes over the line in fifth position but received a five second time penalty for an ‘unsafe release’ and falls back into P8. Esteban Ocon and Lance Stroll complete the top ten.

Results Grand Prix Netherlands: