Max Verstappen wins again at his home Dutch Grand Prix after a well-timed safety car ruins Lewis Hamilton’s bold victory gamble. Featuring Nate Saunders from ESPN.
NO COLLUSION. CROOKED WITCH HUNT. MAKE DANIEL RICCIARDO GREAT AGAIN.
Max Verstappen took victory in the Dutch Grand Prix after pinching victory from Lewis Hamilton in a late-race safety car restart.
The first 48 laps of the 77-lap race had been a tense strategic duel between Hamilton and Verstappen, with Mercedes putting the Briton on a one-stop strategy to take track position from the pole-winnng Dutchman, who led the race early thanks to a great start.
The Red Bull Racing car had the better pace, but with passing so difficult around the tight Zandvoort circuit and with George Russell acting as a buffer between them, the tactics should have given Mercedes its best shot at a win so far this year.
Continue reading on RACERCharles Leclerc edged teammate Carlos Sainz to record a Ferrari one-two in second practice for the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort. Home hero Max Verstappen struggled to eighth on a difficult day for Red Bull Racing in front of the Dutchman’s home crowd.
Leclerc started his qualifying simulation a lap later than most of the rest of the field to pip Sainz, hitherto at the top of the table, by just 0.004s before embarking on his high-fuel runs.
Ferrari is expecting to perform strongly at Zandvoort, where the twisting, undulating circuit will boost its car’s downforce strengths and the lack of long straights will ameliorate its efficiency weakness.
Continue reading on RACERMax Verstappen stormed to pole position ahead of Charles Leclerc at his home Dutch Grand Prix.
Leclerc had been the faster driver after the first laps of Q3 by half a tenth and looked set to send Verstappen’s home fans home disappointment, but the Dutchman rallied the second time around to challenge the Monegasque. Leclerc was fastest of all in the first sector, but a blisteringly quick second split was enough for Verstappen to nose ahead before they tackled the final part of the lap.
The Ferrari driver again improved on his time to record a purple sector at the final split, but it wasn’t enough to counteract the Red Bull Racing car’s impressive time in the middle of the lap, and a personal best for Verstappen as he crossed the line was good enough to take his second consecutive Dutch Grand Prix pole position.
Continue reading on RACERGeorge Russell topped first practice for the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort after Max Verstappen withdrew from the session with gearbox problems.
Verstappen was an early scratching from the hour-long session when his car ground to a halt at Turn 4. His Red Bull team then told him to park it as a precaution to protect the transmission, disappointing his throngs of home fans piled into the grandstands and causing a nine-minute red flag.
Red Bull said the problem wasn’t thought to be terminal, meaning the Dutchman will likely be back on track in FP2 later today.
Continue reading on RACERCharles Leclerc edged George Russell to top spot in final practice at the Dutch Grand Prix, while Max Verstappen recovered from Friday woes to take third.
Leclerc consolidated Ferrari’s lead from Friday evening to set a time of 1m11.632s to pip Russell by just 0.066s. The Mercedes driver was quicker than the Ferrari driver in the final sector, which is mostly flat out after Turns 11 and 12, but lost the bulk of the difference through the high-speed bends of the second split.
Verstappen’s return to competitiveness was the session’s biggest talking point, however. Red Bull Racing struggled with setup on Friday thanks to track time lost through mechanical issues, but the team bounced back on Saturday morning to put Verstappen into the pole fight ahead of qualifying.
Continue reading on RACER