In 2026, Circuit Zandvoort will host the last Dutch GP. After five spectacular race weekends and as many performances by home hero Max Verstappen, the event has grown into one of the highlights of the sports year and a world-famous folk festival. As we count down to the finale of the Dutch GP, we also look back at the previous editions. We go back to 2023: the year in which the weather gods played a leading role at Zandvoort.
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Due to the changing conditions, the third edition of the modern Dutch GP goes down in the books as the most chaotic. Verstappen – a master in the rain – is not caught off guard and dutifully clocks the fastest time on Saturday: pole position again for the home hero. At the start, it is (still) dry over Zandvoort, so Verstappen – and many with him – choose the soft tires. He keeps the lead, ahead of Lando Norris and Fernando Alonso. Not long after, however, the skies open and many teams dive in for rain tires, including Sergio Pérez. Verstappen has to give up the lead to his teammate after a later pit stop.
Max Verstappen’s comeback
On a drying track, he fights his way back impressively. From P11, he moves up to P4 within two laps. Not long after, Zhou Guanyu and Pierre Gasly also have to give way, and Verstappen can launch an attack on his Red Bull teammate. He manages to close the gap considerably before coming in again in the twelfth lap to switch back to slicks. Pérez stops a lap later and has to tolerate the fast Dutchman ahead of him again. Even after a safety car period due to Logan Sargeant’s crash, Verstappen retains the lead.
He steadily builds his lead and forces Pérez into a third pit stop in lap 46. Verstappen himself waits until around lap 50, but thanks to a lightning-fast stop, he still returns to the track ahead of the Mexican. Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc has to leave the battlefield with floor damage, while his teammate Carlos Sainz fights for third place with Fernando Alonso.
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Last downpour
Verstappen seems to be driving unthreatened to victory, but in the final phase, the weather gods have one last surprise in store: with ten laps to go, it starts pouring down. Pérez overshoots in the first corner and loses second place to Gasly. Shortly after, the heavy rain leads to a hard crash for Zhou. The race control stops the race for no less than forty minutes.
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When the race is resumed in clearing weather, there are five laps left. Verstappen keeps Alonso and his teammate behind him and wins a crazy rain race in front of his home crowd. Gasly ultimately inherits third place due to a time penalty for Pérez. The Dutch home hero receives a standing ovation from the ecstatic Orange crowd, partly because he has equaled Sebastian Vettel’s record of nine consecutive wins.
“I am incredibly proud,” Verstappen responded beaming. “I got goosebumps when the national anthem was played before the start. There was really a great atmosphere. Even with the bad weather and the rain, the fans remained enthusiastic and there was always a party. That is really wonderful to see and I am incredibly proud to be able to win here again, even though the weather did not make it easy for us.”
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Read everything about the Dutch GP in Zandvoort here
