Verstappen extends championship lead with win at F1 Dutch Grand Prix

ISTANBUL

Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing on Sunday won the Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix to extend his championship lead to 109 points over Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez.

The Belgian driver finished the Round 15 of the season in one hour, 36 minutes, and 42 seconds, with Mercedes’ George Russell coming in second and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc third in Circuit Zandvoort, near the North Sea coastline.

“It’s always special to win your home grand prix, this year I had to work for it even more, an incredible weekend and really happy we got the Dutch grand prix,” Verstappen said after the race.

“Yeah it was not a straightforward race but we had to push the whole race, of course with the virtual safety car making the right calls, it’s always a bit of a question mark but it worked out really well once we got back to the soft tyres. We had great pace again,” he added.

Verstappen, 24, who started at the pole position had complete control of the race.

Valtteri Bottas of Alfa Romeo stopped his car due to an engine issue and the safety car came out on lap 56.

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton, who followed a one-stop strategy, jumped to first place when he did not come into the pits to change tires. But Verstappen led the race again, passing Hamilton on lap 61.

Verstappen, who set the quickest times, clinched a fourth straight race at his home and 10th of the 2022 Formula 1 season.

He leads the driver standings with 310, while Leclerc is placed second with 201 points.

The next round will be held on Sept. 11 in Italy’s Autodromo Nazionale Monza.

Driver standings

1. Max Verstappen (Netherlands): 310 points

2. Charles Leclerc (Monaco): 201

3. Sergio Perez (Mexico): 201

4. George Russell (Great Britain): 188

5. Carlos Sainz (Spain): 175

Constructors standings

1. Red Bull: 511

2. Ferrari: 376

3. Mercedes: 346

4. Alpine: 125

5. McLaren: 101

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