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Max Verstappen reclaims F1 championship lead from Lewis Hamilton with a victory over his passionate home support Zandvoort; Valtteri Bottas third in second Mercedes, Pierre Gasly finishing impressive fourth for AlphaTauri
By James Galloway
Last updated: 05/21/2015 3:51 PM
Max Verstappen unleashed his home crowd by winning his Dutch GP at Lewis Hamilton to regain the world title lead over rival Mercedes.
Verstappen led ahead and did not foul a wheel in the first home race of his career despite pressure from Hamilton at various points in the Zandvoort race, played in front of surprisingly vocal and colorful local support in the orange-clad stands.
Hamilton’s three-point advantage at the start of the day now turns into a three-point deficit ahead of next week’s Italian GP at Monza, the second of the season’s sprint racing weekends.
Valtteri Bottas finished far third in the second Mercedes. The Finn, on a long first stint, briefly led the race after the first two stopped for the first time, but was only able to keep Verstappen at bay for so long before Red Bull overtook.
The Aston Martin, running close to the rear, circled the bank – and forced oncoming Valtteri Bottas to take evasive action!
Pierre Gasly, meanwhile, capped a breathtaking weekend for AlphaTauri by beating Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to finish fourth.
Fernando Alonso passed his compatriot Carlos Sainz on the last lap for sixth place in Alpine.
From a pit lane start after engine changes, Sergio Perez ran well in eighth place and four potentially crucial points for Red Bull in their manufacturers’ battle with Mercedes. The advantage of the reigning champions, however, increases slightly to 12 points.
Dutch GP result: Top 10
1) Max Verstappen, Red Bull
2) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
3) Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes
4) Pierre Gasly, Alpha Tauri
5) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
6) Fernando Alonso, alpine
7) Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
8) Sergio Perez, Red Bull
9) Esteban Ocon, alpine
10) Lando Norris, McLaren
More soon…
Next stop: the Italian GP – and the second sprint weekend
Formula 1’s last hat-trick ends with one of its most legendary events, the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. Not only that, but next weekend marks the second of F1’s sprint weekends after the test format started at Silverstone in July. Qualifying will take place this Friday evening at 5 p.m. with the sprint race then Saturday afternoon. Sunday’s Grand Prix is at 2 p.m. on September 12.
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