2022 Formula 1 in the Netherlands: Max Verstappen stands on the top step at the finish of the Dutch GP

Zandvoort had a little bit of everything, and in the end, Verstappen captured his home Grand Prix

The action on the track was good, but the action on the strategy was even better, and a little controversy was thrown in for good measure at Zandvoort on Sunday. In the end, Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing needed only to hit their marks in the pits and listen to the strategy wonks as a late virtual safety car and a real safety car period scuttled the one-stop strategy that Mercedes-GP had worked to perfection for Sir Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.

"That [virtual safety car] period scuppered us," radioed Hamilton back to his pit as he tried to chase down Verstappen in the closing laps.

Still, a second, true safety car period brought out by the stranded Alfa Romeo of Valtteri Bottas down the front straight, delivered Hamilton to the lead and set up a shootout to the finish with Verstappen, the former on used hard-compound tires and the latter on fresh soft-compound tires.

"It's going to be hard to keep that car behind me, guys," Hamilton radioed his pit crew.

When it all went green, Hamilton's statement proved prophetic as Verstappen got a good tow off Hamilton on the restart, then went around him on the outside through the Tarzan turns and took over at the front once again.

One-stopper? Two? In the end it was four stops for Verstappen, who took advantage of the safety car periods — virtual and real — to take the win at his home Grand Prix, all of which left Hamilton a bit furious with his team and thinking that he had been left out to hang, particularly when George Russell ended up passing him in the closing stages to take second place, then by Charles Leclerc for third to push him off the podium.

"Why am I the only one not on the soft tire at the end?" Hamilton radioed his crew.

In the end the intrigue off the track was as interesting as the action on it, with the FIA stating they would investigate what went wrong with Yuki Tsunoda's car to bring out that first safety car. 

"It was not a straightforward race," Verstappen said at the end in an understatement. "Before that safety car, I thought it was alright to the end. But then the safety car car out and I knew we had to pit. That last restart, timed it perfectly."

Unofficial finishing order

1. Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
2. George Russell, Mercedes-GP
3. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
4. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-GP
5. Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing
6. Fernando Alonso, Alpine
7. Lando Norris, McLaren
8. Carlos Sainz Jr., Ferrari
9. Esteban Ocon, Alpine
10. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin
11. Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri
12. Alexander Albon, Williams
13. Mick Schumacher, Haas
14. Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin
15. Kevin Magnussen, Haas
16. Zhou Guanyu, Alfa Romeo
17. Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren
18. Nicholas Latifi, Williams
19. Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo
20. Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri
    

What we learned

In case there was any question, Mercedes-GP are simply not going to roll around and wait until next year. While clearly having a car that is not as quick as the Red Bull or Ferrari, with the right strategy in place they can not only compete with both but put themselves in position to win.

While Lewis Hamilton has a right to be frustrated, it appeared Mercedes was going to leave both cars out during that second and final safety car period, and that it was George Russell who called himself into the pits because he felt a tire was going down. It will all be sorted by the time the F1 circus reaches Monza next Friday, I'm sure, but in the meantime Toto Wolff has his work cut out for him in soothing over some hurt feelings.

As for Ferrari, watching what other teams are doing and reacting to that is not really a strategy. It is having a strategy dictated to you. Did they really lose all that speed they flashed in the early practices and qualifying? Or was it that they placed themselves at the mercy of other teams and ran a strategy that didn't best suit their specific strengths because it fit another team's strengths better?

Clearly they have pace. And clearly they have drivers who can deliver on that promise most of the time (or in Charles Leclerc 99-percent of the time). There's a disconnect somewhere, such as in the mistake on Carlos Sainz Jr.'s first pit stop when only three fresh tires were brought out, not four.

Finally, even when they seem down, Red Bull Racing doesn't stay down for long. The confidence Max Verstappen and company have themselves to solve any problem that comes down the road at them, or ones that are trying to catch them, is astounding. There is still a lot of racing that is coming, but as long as they keep finding answers to every question that challenges them, they are going to be a tough target for the other teams to catch. And pass.

[Sep 4, 2022 at 10:40 am ET · Richard Biebrich Jr.]

Top 10 at the finish are Verstappen, Russell, Leclerc on the podium, followed by a disgruntled Hamilton, then Sainz, Perez, Alonso, Norris, Ocon and Stroll.

[Sep 4, 2022 at 10:34 am ET · Richard Biebrich Jr.]

Five laps to go and the top 10 are Verstappen, Russell, Leclerc, Hamilton, Sainz, Perez, Alonso, Norris, Ocon and Stroll.