Linus O'Howell
- Aug 28, 2023
- 3 min read

2023 Dutch Grand Prix Race Review

Home Hero Verstappen takes Record-Equalling 9th Consecutive Formula 1 Race Victory

Super Max proved why he truly is one of the best of all time by taking his 9th consecutive Formula 1 Race victory in manic conditions at Zandvoort. Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso finished in a superb P2 whilst Alpine’s Pierre Gasly brilliantly rounded out the Podium.

The Biggest Talking Points

I have to say, this might have been my favourite race of the season so far! We started the race bone dry, but it was then absolutely chucking it down by the end of the first lap, resulting in some cars boxing straight away for Inters. This meant that by the end of Lap 3, Sergio Perez had a massive lead at the front from Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu whilst Max Verstappen was P4, just behind Pierre Gasly. The likes of Mercedes and McLaren really messed up their strategies as Lewis Hamilton, George Russell, and Lando Norris were all at the back whilst the likes of Alex Albon and Oscar Piastri decided to stick it out on their Soft tyres. It then switched back to Dry tyres being the fastest compound and this saw a bit of controversy as Red Bull pitted Verstappen first meaning he was able to undercut his teammate. I don’t get why Red Bull did this, but I’m also not surprised. We then got a Safety Car as Logan Sargeant crashed at Turn 8 before we saw a bunch of guys (Hamilton, Norris, Russell) try to climb their way back through the order. Charles Leclerc had floor damage which resulted in the Ferrari Driver having absolutely no pace before the rain decided to go insane again as it absolutely pelted it down! Sergio Perez, Lewis Hamilton, and Yuki Tsunoda were just some of the names that went off at Tarzan Corner (Turn 1) whilst Zhou Guanyu went straight into the barriers at the same corner. This eventually brought out a Red Flag, and when we got going, there was more drama as George Russell and Lando Norris came together, resulting in the Mercedes Driver picking up a Puncture. Max Verstappen then crossed the line to take victory ahead of Fernando Alonso whilst Pierre Gasly gained P3 away from Sergio Perez after Checo received a 5-second time penalty for speeding in the Pitlane!

The Standout Drives in the Race

I’ve given out four 10’s for this Race and the first one is obviously for Max Verstappen. I legitimately think that Max Verstappen is unbeatable and he proved that with a stellar drive in tricky conditions. I will also say that I firmly believe Max will win every race for the rest of this season. The second driver I’ve given a 10 to is Fernando Alonso who drove absolutely brilliantly around Zandvoort. He truly is one of the best and he proved it today. The third driver I’ve given maximum points to is Pierre Gasly as he was superb and fully deserved a Podium, even though his 5-second time penalty for speeding in the Pitlane earlier in the race was a bit dumb. The final man I’ve given a 10 to is Alex Albon as I thought he had a superb race. He was always going to finish lower than he started because he massively overperformed in Qualifying, and I also think with the right strategy, Albon definitely would’ve finished inside the Top 6 and maybe even higher than that. I also think Liam Lawson deserves a shootout as finishing P13 in his first-ever Formula 1 Grand Prix in those conditions was a pretty good (maybe even great) effort.

Drivers who had a Shocker

In total, I’ve given out two 1’s for this race, and the first one is for Charles Leclerc. Charles had no pace today and even if that was because of floor damage, that doesn’t matter to me as Leclerc was the one who caused the damage in the first place. The other Driver I’ve given the lowest possible grade to is Logan Sargeant who really needs to stop crashing now. I like Logan, I think he’s got good potential, but there are only so many crashes and incidents that James Vowles and Williams can take. I also thought that Zhou Guanyu crashing wasn’t great, Kevin Magnussen had little to no pace whilst Yuki Tsunoda being beaten by his new teammate won’t do him any favours whatsoever.