Verstappen wins 2022 Dutch Grand Prix amid safety car drama

MANILA: In a thrilling F1 2022 Dutch Grand Prix, Red Bull's Max Verstappen prevailed — and won his home race — despite a strong Mercedes performance and late Safety Car drama in Zandvoort. Mercedes' George Russell and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc completed the podium.

Verstappen appeared to be in control of the race after making a second pit stop on lap 48 of a virtual safety car. Hamilton and Russell were in second and third, respectively, after extending their initial runs on medium tires (their competitors had started on softs) and pitting for hard tires, which they were quick on.

However, Hamilton's aspirations of winning were shattered by what happened after a Lap 55 Safety Car. Valtteri Bottas' stalled Alfa Romeo on the start-finish straight drew yellow flags on Lap 55.

When the 2022 Dutch Grand Prix was restarted on Lap 61, Verstappen, Russell, and Leclerc all entered on soft tires, leaving the seven-time champion in the lead. Verstappen quickly overtook the Mercedes on that restart, and Russell and Leclerc quickly followed to yank Hamilton from the podium.

Hamilton finished fourth at the finish line as Ferrari's Carlos Sainz and Red Bull's Sergio Perez fought for fifth late in the race. Sainz was held back by a disastrous Ferrari pit stop early on — with the pit crew failing to prepare a rear tire and later receiving a five-second penalty for an unsafe release.

Because of this, Fernando Alonso of Alpine and Lando Norris of McLaren were able to close in as well. As a result, Sainz slid to ninth place, moving Perez up to fifth, Alonso up to sixth, and Norris up to seventh.

Sebastian Vettel, who started 19th and came in 14th, lost to Mick Schumacher of Haas because of two sluggish pit stops. Due to disobeying blue flags earlier in the race, the four-time winner was assessed a five-second time penalty.

As he came out of the pits on lap 36, backmarker Vettel was immediately in front of Hamilton and Perez. The Aston Martin driver was crawling along the racing line as the fight for P3 of 2022 Dutch Grand Prix raged behind him.

Kevin Magnussen of Haas crashed into the barriers on lap two but kept racing and came in 15th, just behind his teammate. Following Zhou Guanyu of Alfa Romeo, who received a five-second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane, Daniel Ricciardo of McLaren pitted first out of the pack but was unable to make up lost place, finishing 17th for McLaren.

Alfa Romeo driver Valtteri Bottas was ranked 19th when his car stopped mid-race to release the late Safety Car.

After a lengthy pit break, Yuki Tsunoda of AlphaTauri stopped on the circuit on Lap 48 after reporting a driveshaft issue. Earlier, the driver had claimed that his tires were not properly fitted.

“It’s always special to win your home Grand Prix, it was already last year. This year I have to say I had to work for it even more. So yeah, an incredible weekend and really happy we got the (2022 Dutch Grand Prix)” Max Verstappen expressed.

The F1 triple header concludes with the 2022 Italian Grand Prix at Monza on September 9 to 11. Verstappen is closing in on his second World Championship with a 109-point lead over Leclerc.

Photos from F1

Also read: Verstappen cruises to 2022 Belgian GP win ahead of Perez, Sainz