Max Verstappen chasing record-equalling ninth Formula One win in a row

ZANDVOORT – Max Verstappen can equal Sebastian Vettel’s record nine wins in a row this weekend, as Formula One ends its August break and heads for the Dutch seaside dunes of Zandvoort.

The 25-year-old Red Bull driver can count on a capacity crowd cheering him all the way at the Dutch Grand Prix as he returns home more dominant than ever.

The two-time world champion is favourite to complete a hat-trick, after winning the two races held at the circuit since it returned to the calendar in 2021, and has a 125-point lead over Mexican teammate Sergio Perez after 12 of 22 rounds.

Red Bull are, meanwhile, chasing a 14th successive win, and 13th of this season, with the run dating back to Abu Dhabi last November.

Germany’s Vettel, now retired, is the only driver to have won nine races in a row during a single campaign and he did it for Red Bull on his way to a fourth title in 2013.

“I’m excited to get going with the second half of the season now and what better way to start than in the Netherlands. It’s an amazing track and, of course, the fans are incredible there,” said Verstappen.

“The weather could be temperamental there but... we’ll do our best to score maximum points.”

The battle to be best of the rest promises to be more exciting, with Mercedes, Aston Martin, Ferrari and McLaren all ready to pounce if Red Bull have a shock off day.

Ferrari came closest at the previous round in Belgium, with Charles Leclerc finishing third behind the two Red Bulls, and the Monegasque also started on the front row at Zandvoort in 2022.

“We have a group with Mercedes, Aston, McLaren and sometimes Alpine able to fight for the first rows, which means that it’s an exciting challenge,” said Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur.

“Its quite impossible to predict who will be in good shape at Zandvoort or Monza,” added the Frenchman, saying much depended on track conditions, set-up, how teams managed the weekend and drivers making the difference.

Ferrari’s Israeli reserve Robert Shwartzman will take Carlos Sainz’s place for first practice as part of team obligations to run a young driver in two sessions over the year.

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, who was second in Zandvoort in 2022, would also be recharged and ready.

“We will push hard in the battle for second in the constructors’ championship. We will also be driving development forward for 2024,” said the Austrian.

Renault-owned Alpine, under new management after the departure of principal Otmar Szafnauer, will also be hoping for a strong weekend.

“Clearly, the weeks leading up to the break were not easy for everyone at the team,” said Alpine’s interim principal Bruno Famin.

“There is no change to the team’s strategy or objectives... Zandvoort is an exciting fresh start for all of us.”

Looking further down the line are Haas, after they announced on Thursday that Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen will continue with the United States-owned Formula One team in 2024 in an unchanged line-up.

Both have both scored points this season, with Hulkenberg’s seventh place in Australia in April their best result of the campaign, and their retention came as no surprise.

Between them, they have started 346 grands prix. Haas are eighth of 10 teams in the constructors’ championship going into this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix.

“It’s safe to say that we’ve had an extremely solid driver pairing this season in Formula One and, ultimately, there was no reason to look to change that moving forward,” team principal Guenther Steiner said in a statement.

REUTERS