F1 LIVE: Lewis Hamilton incident angers Wolff, Red Bull find Verstappen replacement

F1: Verstappen 'most nervous he's felt' when learning to drift cars

Lewis Hamilton equalled his worst qualifying performance of the season in an incident-hit session at the Circuit Zandvoort on Saturday as Max Verstappen clinched pole position again for Sunday's race. The Briton was off the pace as the track dried out from the earlier rain and Mercedes got their timings wrong as Hamilton crashed out of Q2 to line up 13th on the grid, while his team-mate George Russell snatched an impressive third.

But Verstappen was once again in supreme form despite Lando Norris' best efforts. The championship leader was over half a second clear of the McLaren as his closest challenger and put Sergio Perez in his shadow as well, with the Mexican nowhere near matching his team-mate for pace as he could only qualify seventh.

Charles Leclerc and Logan Sargeant both ensured it would be a close-run finish in Q3 after crashing into the barriers, bringing out the red flag on both occasions. Verstappen, however, was unfazed as he looks set to make it nine wins in a row and 13 for Red Bull on Sunday.

But for Hamilton and Mercedes, there is still quite a long way to go before they can even think about getting close to Verstappen and Red Bull.

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Norris slams McLaren call

Lando Norris has criticised McLaren's decision to stay out on slick tyres while the majority of the grid opted to change.

The Brit finished the day in eighth place, but felt that the team's gamble backfired in what could have been a strong finish.

"I am not too satisfied," Norris said. "The second half of the race was good, I think we did everything we could, we undercut a few cars and a relatively decent race.

"We just lost everything in the beginning with the decision to stay out on the slicks when it was too wet. That lost a lot more than we ever should have done.

"It wasn't game over but it kind of threw everything away. Things to work on."

Wolff launches Mercedes review

Mercedes chief Toto Wolff has confirmed that he will be conducting an investigation into their Dutch Grand Prix decisions.

Both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell were vocal about how they were hindered in Zandvoort.

While Wolff admitted that their race was "catastrophic" having been too slow to react to the heavy rain, leaving their drivers in the lurch at times.

"I think we stayed out catastrophically too long," Wolff said. "We got it completely wrong and it is annoying because the car had real pace.

"From there on, it was just recovering as good as we could. I would rather have a fast race car and a mediocre result even though it hurts. It is bittersweet because the result is just really bad."

Hamilton unhappy with call

Lewis Hamilton was unhappy with Mercedes' strategy during the Dutch Grand Prix, as he finished sixth after moving up from the midfield.

Both he and team-mate George Russell were hindered by the Silver Arrows' decisions to stay out longer than expected once the rain poured down - calling the team out for the plan.

"I was the only one on the medium tyre. I wanted to be off-set to the people around me but not everyone on the grid," Hamilton said.

"When that rain then came out, we as a team made the wrong decision. Ultimately it was the team's call and we paid the price for that.

"We came out last and then we were just chasing. I think it was a really good example of when you fall or stumble to get back up and keep trying. Every time I had to pit I came out behind and I kept chasing and it was not that easy to do."

Verstappen on difficult win

Max Verstappen reflected on a "tough" race that was made chaotic by the weather, forcing a red flag with just a few laps remaining.

"Incredible. They didn't make it easy for us with the weather to make all the right calls," Verstappen said. "Incredibly proud.

"I already had goosebumps when they were playing the national anthem before the start. Even with all the bad weather, the rain, the fans are still going at it. So an incredible atmosphere.

"I'm going to enjoy this weekend. It's always tough. The pressure is on to perform and I'm very happy to win here."

Max Verstappen wins Dutch GP

Max Verstappen has claimed victory at the Dutch Grand Prix after rain chaos in the final ten laps. He has now equalled Sebastian Vettel’s record of nine consecutive wins from 2013.

In Zandvoort, a red flag on lap 64 suspended the race for 40 minutes, before Fernando Alonso went on to finish second and Pierre Gasly took third after Sergio Perez's five-second penalty.

Lewis Hamilton claimed sixth after working his way up from the midfield, you can to catch up with an eventful day of racing.

Red flag continues

A red flag has caused driving to stop at the Dutch Grand Prix over the past 20 minutes thanks to heavy rain.

The skies are beginning to shine some light, however, in the hopes that the final seven laps can take place.

Red Bull's Sergio Perez had entered the pits when the red flag was brought up, having dropped down to sixth but should the race resume - he will start in third as Max Verstappen leads.

Angry George Russell

Mercedes driver George Russell was not happy during the Dutch Grand Prix, having vented at his team over their radio.

Having started in P3, the Brit quickly fell to 17th after some strategic calls that backfired for the Silver Arrows.

Sargeant issues apology after Q3 smash

American F1 rookie Logan Sargeant has apologised to his team after crashing out of the Dutch Grand Prix qualifying.

The Williams driver made it through to Q3 for the first time in his career, and forced Lewis Hamilton towards a shock early elimination, but his joy was short-lived thanks to the track's wet conditions.

Sargeant managed to impress in qualifying despite the rainy conditions at Zandvoort. The driver narrowly made it into the top 10 with a quick time of 1:20.067 in Q2.

However, two turns into the lap in Q3, the Florida-born driver hit a wet patch and span off the track and slamming into the barrier, forcing him to apologise.

Verstappen heavy favourite to equal record

Max Verstappen will equal Sebastian Vettel's record of nine consecutive wins if he claims victory at Zandvoort today - and the bookmakers are heavily backing the Dutchman to do just that.

According to the latest odds from BettingSites.co.uk, Verstappen is priced as low as 1/6 to win the race.

The Red Bull star has been victorious in 10 out of 12 races this season and looks a class above at the moment.

Dutch Grand Prix winner

Max Verstappen 1/6

Lando Norris 8/1

George Russell 12/1

Sergio Perez 22/1

Norris gives bleak Verstappen prediction

Lando Norris has already conceded Max Verstappen is likely to drive off into the distance after the first two laps as he lines up behind the Red Bull star on the grid.

Norris qualified on the front row, half a second slower than Verstappen, and hopes to be able to challenge the Dutchman for the lead going into turn one.

But the Briton is realistic about his chances of keeping up with the championship leader beyond the first two laps.

“I’ll challenge him probably two laps, then he’ll drive away,” he said.

“I’m not going to say no, like I’m not going to give it a try, but Max is always on another level when it comes to Sunday, in tyre degradation and race pace. So, there’s opportunities, but it’s going to be tough.”

Russell gets Wolff backing after qualifying show

Toto Wolff has given his backing to George Russell after admitting the Briton has been through 'ups and downs' at Mercedes.

The 25-year-old was critical of his performances when reflecting on his season so far before pulling off third place in qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix. And Wolff says he has no doubts about the ex-Williams driver's ability to deliver when things are going his way.

"When you and I are having a bad day, nobody knows. When a driver is having a bad day then he's probably a tenth off and that makes all the difference in qualifying," Wolff said.

"All drivers have days that are not so good and we've seen ups and downs with George, but the quality of driver that he is, I've never doubted for a minute. Today he was able to shine with the car on P3, had a drama-free qualifying with no traffic."

Red Bull chief takes dig at Perez

Red Bull special advisor Helmut Marko has called out Sergio Perez again after questioning the Mexican's strategy in qualifying.

Perez was some way off getting close to Max Verstappen at Circuit Zandvoort and will start seventh for the Dutch Grand Prix, leaving Marko to reflect on another disappointing showing from Perez.

“For Checo, they did two warm-up laps. I don't think that was the right choice," Marko told Sky Sports Germany.

“Besides, being Max's team-mate is the worst position to be in, especially at this moment. Sergio is not the best driver in qualifying, we also know by now.

“Strategically it wasn't good either, but that was a decision by him and his engineer, how they handled it. That decision was not good and that definitely made a difference.”

Vettel sends message to Verstappen

Max Verstappen has revealed he received a text from Sebastian Vettel congratulating him on his dominant run of Formula 1 victories.

The Red Bull star can clinch his ninth successive win, tying him with Vettel's record, if he takes the checkered flag at his home Dutch Grand Prix today.

And the 25-year-old spoke of how Vettel got in touch to praise his efforts.

"After five wins in a row, Seb texted me, 'Well done doing what you are doing at the moment. Keep it up' and something like, 'You are going to do the record'," he said.

"But I was like, 'that is nine wins in a row, and something very impressive'. I never thought I would be able to get to eight."

Verstappen replacement found as Red Bull want 'big star'

Max Verstappen could be replaced by Lando Norris when he decides to retire from F1 as Red Bull will be looking for a 'big star', according to Sky Sports F1 commentator David Croft.

Verstappen has dropped hints he could walk away from the sport earlier than expected and that would leave the Austrian team scrambling to find their next No 1 driver.

"The more Max says, 'I might not be around after 2028, I might retire early and do other things', the more Red Bull feel, 'We need a big star to be alongside Max for a couple of years, three years, then be our big star to carry on into the future'," Croft said on Sky Sports F1.

"That suits Lando Norris' star billing, at the moment. Will he stay around at McLaren longer than his contract? It depends if they give him a car which can challenge for a championship. It's a slow burner, but it's a big story."

Lewis Hamilton decision blasted by Wolff

Toto Wolff slammed Yuki Tsunoda's 'ugly' impeding of Lewis Hamilton which may have cost him a place in Q2 of qualifying, after the AlphaTauri star was hit with a three-place grid penalty.

The stewards ruled that Tsunoda had held up Hamilton on the track and a visibily annoyed Wolff ranted about the decision that cost Hamilton dearly as he starts 13th.

"The impeding is really ugly to look at," the visibly annoyed Austrian told reporters in the Zandvoort paddock, including Mirror Sport. "The answer is penalise, penalise, penalise. If you know that you don't go to prison when you cheat your taxes, you cheat your taxes. I can't understand why these things are not penalised.

"It was clear impeding with some drivers in Q1 and Tsunoda, he's a nice guy, but he impeded Lewis on his quick lap and didn't move from the dry line. It didn't look like much but going from a dry to a wet line cost him.

"I think a tenth would have put him into Q3. We need to be harsh with penalties and then people will look in their mirrors."

Good morning!

Hello and welcome to Express Sport's rolling coverage of the latest F1 news ahead of today's race for the Dutch Grand Prix.

We will see cars out on track for the main event for a 2pm start with our dedicated race coverage, so don't miss it.

In the meantime, we'll be on hand to keep you updated with the biggest stories throughout the day, so grab a fresh cup of coffee and stay tuned.