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  • World Cup 2021 The fight between Hamilton and Verstappen

The return to Zandvoort, after 35 years of absence, was well worth it for

Max Verstappen

, who sealed a powerful victory against his fans with which he regained the leadership of the World Cup.

In a race without history, focused on strategic guesswork, the hometown idol held the timid onslaught of

Lewis Hamilton

and

Valtteri Bottas

, teammates on the podium and locked in an absurd final fight for the fastest lap bonus.

Red Bull's mechanical superiority and the absence of any incidents on the asphalt turned Sunday into a triumphant

Mad Max

parade

.

Among the general atony,

Fernando Alonso

scratched a creditable sixth place, beating

Carlos Sainz

in the last lap

, seventh.

That competitive desire of the Asturian and the internal mess between the Mercedes gave some luster to an afternoon that only the 105,000 fans present in the stands will remember with nostalgia. Alonso only yielded to the power of

Pierre Gasly

and the consistency of

Charles Leclerc

, while Sainz's Ferrari, weakened by Saturday's accident, was hopelessly losing steam. Ahead, the extra point, for which the rebel Bottas was also fighting, ended up in the hands of Hamilton (1: 11.097).

The consolation prize cannot satisfy Mercedes, who tried to express her numerical superiority against Verstappen.

In all the ways the engineers of

Toto Wolff

tried

, without finding a definitive answer before the leader.

Cruising at the pace of a cruise, managing its advantages with exemplary serenity, Red Bull took a victory that an entire country dreamed of.

Two posts in one lap

In an afternoon without a single

safety car

, where overtaking was counted on the fingers of the hands, the only imperishable moment came at the start. Alonso, with a flash of lightning in his eyes, challenged

Esteban Ocon

, his garage companion

, wheel after wheel

, before risking the limit on the outside of Turn 3. There he was going to run into the ailerons of

George Russell

and

Antonio Giovinazzi

. However, he soon began to give up almost a second per lap to the Ferraris. Ocon would record on the radio: "Fernando is extremely slow."

Nothing changed in the middle zone until the middle of the race, when the Ferraris were the only ones to bet on hard shoes. Two laps later Alonso entered, already doubled by the leader. The experience of the Oviedo, added to the extreme degradation of Sainz tires, decided the fate of the Spaniards. In addition, Alpine can celebrate the low-key role of McLaren and Aston Martin. Between

Lando Norris

,

Daniel Ricciardo

,

Lance Stroll

and

Sebastian Vettel they

only added a sad point.

Ahead, during the first quarter of the race, Verstappen's lead was held at around three seconds.

Giampiero Lambiase

, his engineer, advanced the possibility that Hamilton's strategy would be stretched to two stops.

"The tires are on the limit," said the Briton, just before going through the pits on lap 21. Red Bull did not waste a minute tracing the movement, putting Bottas in the lead.

"I don't know why you were in such a hurry"

Mercedes' initiative not only cut the deficit to just two seconds, it also forced Verstappen to follow Hamilton's plan.

"It is absolutely critical to get to Bottas and pass him," they said on Red Bull radio.

And

Mad Max

did his job on lap 31, aided by the DRS on the main straight.

The Finn's mission did not end there, as he pushed hard, almost a second faster than his rivals.

Despite this, this inspiration behind the wheel came up against his eternal misfortune again, at the moment when he was hampered by a Vettel spin at Turn 3. From that moment, the victory would be aired between the seven-time champion and the great title contender.

Mercedes played too much on the wire and that precipitation made her play a desperate card.

On lap 41 he called again for Hamilton, who on his return to the asphalt was blocked by the bends.

"Those tires had a lot of life left, I don't know why you were in such a hurry," lamented the Briton.

"I don't think I can reach the goal with these," he added in his litany.

Christian Horner

, who had mounted the hard tires on his leader's car, saw the road clear at that moment.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

  • sports

  • Formula 1

  • Carlos Sainz Jr

  • Fernando Alonso

  • Max verstappen

  • Lewis hamilton

  • Red bull racing

  • Mercedes gp

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Formula 1Hard accident for Sainz that compromises his weekend in Zandvoort

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