Neither Equalling Vettel’s Record Nor Winning Dutch GP, Max Verstappen Reveals “Highlight” of Topsy Turvy Weekend

Going into the summer break, everyone has a few burning questions: Considering Red Bull won every race in the first half, can it become the first team to win every race in a season? How long will this streak of dominance go on for? Will other teams be able to close the gap after the summer break? And most of all, will Max Verstappen break yet another record this season? The answer to those questions is: Possibly. 

Max Verstappen has been almost invincible this season. If he’s in the lead of a race, there’s very little chance of anything other than a Verstappen win happening. Off the back of eight consecutive wins in the first half, the reigning world champion looked to continue his streak at the Dutch GP. And—you guessed it!—he did. He now has a streak of nine consecutive wins. But why wasn’t this iconic achievement the highlight of his day?

Max Verstappen is a kid at heart

Nine race wins in a row. That’s the benchmark Sebastian Vettel set in 2013 when driving for Red Bull. In one of the most dominant seasons Formula 1 has ever seen—until the 2023 season—Vettel won all nine races in the second half of the season, sealing his fourth consecutive championship with the team. Coming into the Dutch GP, Verstappen was looking to equal that record, and now, he’s on par with the German driver. But as per Verstappen, that wasn’t the highlight of his day.

As soon as Verstappen sealed pole on Saturday—at his home race in front of the Dutch fans—securing the win was almost inevitable. As much as the odds were in his favor, the win didn’t come easily because the race was anything but straightforward. It was as if the rain was waiting for the five lights to go off, after which it came pouring down, throwing teams’ strategies out the window. Despite the wet, sunny, and wet conditions, Verstappen kept his head down and made it a hattrick of Dutch GP victories. You would’ve thought nothing could top equaling Vettel’s record at the Dutch GP. Well, that wasn’t the case.

Read More: Max Verstappen’s Girlfriend Sarcastically “Thanks” Fernando Alonso for Ruining Picture Perfect Dutch GP at the End

In the post-race press conference, the interviewer asked the 25-year-old how satisfying that win was, considering all the ups and downs during the race. Verstappen held up a bag of Dutch candies and said, “Look at this! I got this now! It’s the highlight of the day for me!” So, no. It wasn’t the fact that he was matching and creating history that made him happy. Rather, the fulfillment of the little pleasures of his kid’s heart made his day. While the race results might’ve suggested Verstappen got the win easily, there was a chance he could’ve lost the win.

Fernando Alonso stopped himself from overtaking Max Verstappen

The Dutch GP saw Fernando Alonso’s best qualifying performance since the Canadian GP in June. After lining up in P5 on the grid, the Spaniard crossed the line in P2, fulfilling his wish of getting onto the podium in Zandvoort. But that P2 could very well have been a P1. The extremely tricky wet conditions toward the end of the race led to Zhou Guanyu crashing into the barriers, bringing out the Red Flag. 

As racing resumed and Verstappen led the pack across the line, the Dutchman had a pacey Alonso behind him who was finding excellent pace on his intermediate tires. The first two laps after the restart saw the Spaniard trying to get past Verstappen, but after the third lap, Verstappen pulled away and took the win. In the post-race interview, though, Alonso revealed why he stopped challenging Verstappen. He said, “I did think about trying a move [on Max] in the restart, but then I thought I maybe cannot exit the circuit anymore.” He meant that had he beaten Verstappen, the Orange Army would’ve unleashed their wrath on him.

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What was your highlight of the race? Watching Max Verstappen add yet another victory to his name or listening to Alonso expressing his fear of the Orange Army?