There's no Verstopping Max Verstappen in Holland

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 F1 2021: Fans erupt over 'insane' scenes at Dutch Grand Prix

Pictures speak a thousand words. That could not be any more true than with this snapshot of Max Verstappen finishing the Dutch Grand Prix as a race winner at his home race. 

We have seen passionate fans all around the globe; in Silverstone, in Brazil, even in China to a certain extent. But none surpass the level of support that I witnessed in the Dutch fans at Zandvoort. A perfect weekend from start to finish saw Max in dominant force as formula 1 made its return to the Netherlands. 

A brilliant getaway from pole position saw Max into the lead which he kept for nearly the entire race as nobody besides Lewis Hamilton even came close to him. Fortunately for the Mercs they had 2 drivers in the top 3 whereas Sergio Perez, after a poor qualifying had to start from the pit lane. This meant that they could try and play around with their strategy so as to bring the flying Dutchman closer to the jaws of defeat. Unfortunately, even though Bottas put in a long stint to keep Max behind and drive him into Lewis, it worked to no avail as once the Finn pitted it was smooth sailing for the Dutch national who finished the Grand Prix with a comfortable 20 second gap. A pitstop on the penultimate lap for Hamilton meant that he would take the fastest lap to cut the gap between the leaders to 3 points. 

Meanwhile behind the trio, who have shared the podium together the most in Formula 1 history, it was a mighty drive from Pierre Gasly who came home to finish in 4th place, his tied best finish of the season to date. He was ahead of the 2 scarlet prancing horses of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz who were split by Fernando Alonso with Sergio Perez in 8th close on their tail. It was an eventful, overtaking filled race for Fernando Alonso who showed his true colours making some stunning moves on his way to 6th place. His teammate had a successful race as well coming in the points with the McLaren rounding out the top 10 positions. A poor race for the Aston Martin's who finished outside the top 10 and will hope to change that around in a weeks time. 

We move in a week's time to Monza, the Temple of Speed where F1 will host sprint qualifying for a second time around. The title fight is closer than ever and we look forward to seeing the true battle of speed on track. 

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