Verstappen milks applause from Orange Army after win at home

Max Verstappen stood on his car to milk the applause as the 100,000-strong Orange Army engulfed their national hero in a sea of their favorite color after he won the Dutch Grand Prix on Sunday.

A second straight win at the Zandvoort track by the seaside; a fourth straight win for the first time in his career and already a 30th overall; a 109-point lead with only seven races left. That orange wave is carrying him to a second straight world title.

“It’s nice to see all the crowd and the craziness, I appreciate it a lot,” Verstappen said. “This was a very special weekend for me. It’s been incredible.”

It seems a question now of when, rather than if, the Red Bull driver seals the title and if he can beat Sebastian Vettel’s F1 record of 13 wins in a season from 2013 — also achieved with Red Bull. Verstappen has won 10 races this season so far.

Seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton has never won more than 11 in a single campaign.

“It’s down to the team, of course, but that’s also how Lewis won the championships. That’s what good drivers do, they make the difference,“Verstappen said. “Even when we win races we want to do better. That’s how you stay on top. Because if you stand still people will overtake you.”

Verstappen made quick work of a safety car restart this time to overtake Hamilton.

His 10th win matched his tally from last year as his challengers — Ferrari’s

Charles Leclerc and teammate Sergio Perez in joint second — fell further back in the standings.

“Very lovely result guys,” Verstappen said to his team, before telling his legions of supporters he was “proud to be Dutch.“

His win was even more special because of a gearbox problem in Friday’s first practice session.

George Russell finished second for Mercedes ahead of Leclerc, with Hamilton dropping from first to fourth.

“As a team we showed incredible pace today. The team result wasn’t quite what we hoped for but we can take a lot of confidence moving forward,“Russell said. “We are slowly getting closer to that top step.”

Verstappen looked to be coasting to victory when a safety car came out on Lap 56 of 72, after the engine cut out on Valtteri Bottas’ Alfa Romeo.

Verstappen changed tires and was behind leader Hamilton’s Mercedes with 12 laps left.

But Hamilton was on a slower medium tire and

Verstappen on the quicker softs left the British driver pretty much a sitting duck, much like when he lost the title to Verstappen at last year’s season-ending Abu Dhabi GP.

Hamilton misjudged his restart and Verstappen overtook him straight away to bring a huge roar from the crowd. The Dutchman also took an extra point for the fastest lap.

“I had a good run in the restart, we had a bit more top speed and that helps to attack into Turn 1,” Verstappen said.