Fernando Alonso believes Max Verstappen’s record-equalling Formula One reign has been underestimated.

Verstappen matched Sebastian Vettel’s all-time streak of nine consecutive wins with a brilliant display in Sunday’s wet-dry-wet Dutch Grand Prix.

The Red Bull driver is 138 points clear at the summit of the world championship and could close out his third title as early as next month.

Earlier this season, Lewis Hamilton described Verstappen’s Red Bull machine as the fastest car he has ever seen.

But during Verstappen’s run of nine in a row, team-mate Sergio Perez – the only other driver to win a race in 2023 – has finished off the podium five times.

And double world champion Alonso, runner-up to Verstappen in Zandvoort, said: “It is underestimated what Max is achieving. To win in such a dominant way in any professional sport is so complicated.

“Today I felt connected with the car and that I was able to give 100 per cent of my abilities but perhaps at other races in Belgium or Austria, for example, I wasn’t able to do that.

“But Max is achieving 100 per cent more often than the rest of us at the moment, and that is why he is dominating.”

Since he claimed his maiden title at the controversial season-ending Abu Dhabi race in 2021, Verstappen has won 26 of the 35 races staged. In his last 24 appearances, Verstappen has failed to win just four times. He has triumphed at 11 of the 13 rounds so far this year.

On Sunday night, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner lauded his star driver as “simply untouchable”.

Hamilton’s Mercedes team secured eight consecutive constructors’ championships before Red Bull returned to the top.

Hamilton won six titles in seven seasons, but he was never able to win more than five races in a row. Michael Schumacher managed seven straight victories for Ferrari during his stranglehold of the sport at the turn of the century.

And Verstappen, 25, said: “There have been more dominant cars in the past than we have at the moment, and they haven’t been able to win nine in a row.

“It is hard and, especially in the rain, it’s easy to make a wrong call or spin into the gravel. So, it’s never that straightforward.”

Verstappen will bid to secure his 10th consecutive win at this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix in Monza.

Lewis Hamilton said he “paid the price” for Mercedes’ strategy blunder at the start of Sunday’s Dutch Grand Prix.

Following a first-lap downpour in Zandvoort, Mercedes were too slow to put both Hamilton and team-mate George Russell on the intermediate tyres.

The poorly-timed stops left Hamilton and Russell – who was third on the grid – 13th and 17th when the order shuffled out.

“We should have pitted, but we didn’t, and we paid the price for that,” said Hamilton who eventually crossed the line sixth as Max Verstappen claimed his ninth win in succession.

“Today I had the pace, and I was on pace with Max, but we were just out of position.

“I was pretty happy with my drive to back into the points. I got sixth. But it could have been higher, for sure.”

Sergio Perez started seventh but assumed the lead of the race after he was called in by his quick-thinking Red Bull team on the first lap.

With the rain still falling, Verstappen, quite rightly, stopped the next time round but Russell stayed out on the slick rubber despite the worsening conditions.

Hamilton, who started 13th, was also sent round for another lap despite the seven-time world champion’s obvious concerns.

“We should have come in, man,” said Hamilton over the radio. “It is very wet.”

“Copy, Lewis,” said his race engineer Peter Bonnington. “We’re going to stay out. We’re going to have to brave this.”

But at the end of the third lap, Hamilton was in for wet tyres. He rejoined the track in last place.

Russell was still sliding around on slicks before he was changed on to the wet rubber at the end of lap four.

“I was forecast a podium,” said Russell on the radio. “F***, how did we mess this up?”

Russell was classified 17th after he collided with Norris in the closing stages and sustained a left-rear puncture.

“The race was over before it really got started,” said the 25-year-old Englishman. “The information we got about the weather was totally wrong.

“We thought the rain would last a couple of minutes but it clearly lasted for longer. It was a real shame. A podium was missed.

“As a team we need to review because we are getting the information coming into us and it was misjudging the weather. It is not anything to do with racing or engineering. It was just a weather misinterpretation and that ruined our afternoon.

“So we need to look into that, to see why the others decided to pit and what information they had that we didn’t, and make sure we don’t make the same mistake again.”

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said: “That was a difficult day for us. In the opening 15 laps, we got pretty much everything wrong that we could have done – and that cost us any chance of fighting for the podium. We will review thoroughly.”

Christian Horner has hailed “untouchable” Max Verstappen as the best driver in the world after the Red Bull star overcame a chaotic rain-hit Dutch Grand Prix to equal Sebastian Vettel’s record of nine wins in a row.

Despite two separate downpours wreaking havoc at the beginning and conclusion of Sunday’s 72-lap race in Zandvoort, Verstappen delivered in front of 105,000 expectant fans to take the chequered flag ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, with Pierre Gasly completing the podium.

Verstappen’s Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez, slapped with a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit-lane, finished fourth while Lewis Hamilton – who bemoaned his Mercedes team’s poor strategy in the inclement conditions – came home in sixth place.

Verstappen, who has won 11 of the 13 rounds so far, will head to next weekend’s Italian Grand Prix in Monza 138 points clear in the drivers’ championship.

There remains an outside chance he could complete his hat-trick of titles at the Japanese Grand Prix on September 24 with half-a-dozen rounds still to run.

“Max is in a period of his career where he is just simply untouchable,” said Red Bull team principal Horner, who oversaw Vettel’s streak of nine straight wins a decade ago.

“I don’t think there is any driver on the grid that would be able to achieve what he is doing in that car.

“To win nine races in a row is insane, and it is something that none of us would have envisaged, and I never thought we would repeat it after we managed it with Sebastian. What we are witnessing is a driver that is generational.

“Max has been in incredible form for the past three years, and the most impressive thing for me is all the pressure that he is under here.

“With the expectation of 100,000 Dutch fans, a lot would have cracked under that pressure, but he kept his composure and delivered, as he has done so many times.”

Come wind, rain or shine, 25-year-old Verstappen is the man for all occasions. On pole, he found himself down in 13th place after seven drivers – including team-mate Perez – took advantage of a sudden first-lap downpour to move on to wet tyres.

But by lap 13, Verstappen – who at one stage was lapping his home track four seconds faster than Perez and two seconds quicker than anybody else – was back in the lead.

His record-equalling feat was placed in doubt when the rain returned with vengeance with a dozen laps to go, and Zhou Guanyu crashed out, and the race was stopped.

A 43-minute delay and six-lap dash to the chequered flag followed, but Verstappen denied Alonso any hope of taking his first win in a decade with an assured drive. He finished 3.7 sec clear of the Spaniard.

As Verstappen ensured Red Bull’s unbeaten run remained, Hamilton’s afternoon was scuppered by Mercedes’ dithering following the first-lap downpour.

Hamilton was not called in for wet tyres until the end of lap three with team-mate George Russell following in on the next lap. When the dust settled, Hamilton and Russell, who started third, were 16th and 18th respectively.

From there it was a damage-limitation exercise for both men, with Hamilton driving well to take sixth place.

Russell might have finished seventh but for a late duel with countryman Lando Norris leaving him with race-ending harm to his Mercedes. Norris crossed the line in seventh place.

Max Verstappen equalled Formula One’s all-time record of nine consecutive race wins in his home Dutch Grand Prix.

The Red Bull driver matched Sebastian Vettel’s achievement and here, the PA news agency looks at how he compares.

Cloud nine

Verstappen has won 11 of this season’s 13 races – with team-mate Sergio Perez taking the other two as the duo surpassed the great McLaren pairing of Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost’s run of 11 straight wins in 1988.

Since Perez’s win in Azerbaijan on April 30, Verstappen has won the Miami, Monaco, Spanish, Canadian, Austrian, British, Hungarian, Belgian and now Dutch Grands Prix.

He won from ninth on the grid in Florida, passing Perez with nine laps to go, and his team judged the rain correctly to hold off Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso in Monaco.

Dominant wins in Spain and Canada brought him level with Senna’s career tally of 41 race wins, which he quickly overhauled in Austria.

Victory at Silverstone took him 99 points clear in the drivers’ standings and he shot past pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton on the run to the first corner in Hungary before clinching Red Bull the record for consecutive team wins.

His attention could then turn to the individual landmark and after surging through from sixth on the grid at Spa, he returned from the summer break to beat Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso in a six-lap dash to the chequered flag to match Vettel’s streak, set in 2013.

History repeats for Red Bull

Vettel set the record – also driving for Red Bull, for whom Adrian Newey has been in post as chief technical officer on both occasions – when he won the final nine races of 2013 to surge clear of Alonso and win the title.

His run began in Belgium, where he overtook Hamilton early on and was untroubled thereafter, before dominant wins in Italy, Singapore and Korea and a strategic success in Japan.

The German clinched the title in India and added further wins in Abu Dhabi and the United States before a season-ending success in Brazil made it nine in a row and 13 for the season.

Alberto Ascari has a claim to a share of the record, having won the last six races of the 1952 season and his first three starts of 1953. The run was interrupted by Ascari not entering the Indianapolis 500, which at the time was part of the drivers’ championship and was won by American Bill Vukovich.

Michael Schumacher won seven in a row in 2004, as did Nico Rosberg at the end of 2015 and the start of his 2016 title-winning season.

Schumacher also had a run of six across the 2000 and 2001 seasons while Hamilton’s longest run is five wins, as was Verstappen’s before his current streak.

Verstappen is on track to be the first driver ever to win over 80 per cent of races in a season – beating Ascari’s 75 per cent in 1952, when there were only eight races in total – while he has won almost 94 per cent of the maximum points available with 339 of a possible 362 so far.

Max Verstappen navigated his way through a chaotic and dramatic rain-hit Dutch Grand Prix to equal Sebastian Vettel’s record of nine victories in a row.

Pole-sitter Verstappen found himself down in 13th place after seven drivers – including Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez – took advantage of a sudden first-lap downpour to move on to wet tyres.

The Dutchman regained the lead on lap 13 of 72 only for the race to be red-flagged with just eight laps to run after Zhou Guanyu crashed out following a second heavy shower.

A 43-minute suspension followed as the tyre barrier at the opening corner was repaired.

But Verstappen beat Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso in a six-lap dash to the chequered flag to match Vettel’s streak, set in 2013.

Perez finished third but was demoted a place after he was hit with a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane, allowing Pierre Gasly to take the final spot on the podium.

Carlos Sainz finished fifth, holding off Lewis Hamilton, with Lando Norris seventh. George Russell was forced to retire his Mercedes following a late duel with Norris.

Verstappen, whose Red Bull team remain unbeaten this season, extended his championship lead from 125 points to 138 ahead of next weekend’s Italian Grand Prix in Monza.

Dark clouds gathered in the minutes ahead of Sunday’s round in Zandvoort, 30 miles outside of Amsterdam, and just a handful of corners into the start, the heavens opened.

While Verstappen and the leading pack tiptoed their way round the 2.65-mile circuit, Perez – who started in seventh – was called in by his quick-thinking Red Bull team for the intermediate tyres.

With the rain still falling, Verstappen sensibly stopped the next time round but McLaren’s Lando Norris and the Mercedes of Russell stayed out on the slick rubber despite the worsening conditions.

Hamilton, who started 13th, was also sent round for another lap despite the seven-time world champion’s obvious concerns.

“We should have come in, man,” he said over the radio. “It is very wet.”

“Copy, Lewis,” said his race engineer Peter Bonnington. “We’re going to stay out. We’re going to have to brave this.”

But at the end of the third lap, Hamilton was in for wet tyres. He rejoined the track in last place. Russell was still sliding around on slicks before he was changed on to the wet rubber at the end of lap four. When the dust settled, Hamilton and Russell occupied 16th and 18th places.

“I was forecast a podium,” said Russell on the radio. “F***, how did we mess this up?”

By now the rain had relented and dry line was already starting to emerge, and, despite his early handicap, the all-conquering Verstappen was, predictably, on the march.

On lap six he raced past Gasly for third before moving up to second a lap later as he blasted ahead of Zhou. Perez was seven seconds up the road.

Verstappen was taking chunks out of Perez – on one lap as many as four seconds – before he reverted to slicks on lap 11. Perez stopped the next time round but emerged three seconds behind the flying Dutchman, who was now back in the lead, and back in control.

On lap 15, Logan Sargeant was back in the wall a day after crashing out in qualifying. The American was unharmed but the safety car was deployed to retrieve his machine.

Mercedes called Russell in for his third stop of the afternoon, putting him on the hardest, durable tyre in the hope it would see him through to the end of the race.

With Sargeant’s wounded Williams out of the way, the race resumed on lap 21. Verstappen controlled the restart to leave team-mate Perez trailing.

Verstappen raced off into the distance with Hamilton and Russell beginning their fightback through the pack. The Mercedes men were back in the top 10 but with only a dozen laps remaining, the rain returned with vengeance.

The drivers were back in the pits for intermediate tyres before Perez spun his Red Bull at the opening corner and lost second to Alonso.

As the downpour intensified, Alfa Romeo’s Zhou aquaplaned at the first corner and thudded into the tyre wall. Hamilton also ran off at the opening bend but managed to keep his Mercedes out of the barriers and rejoined the track. Race director Niels Wittich red-flagged the race.

After a lengthy suspension the event was back under way at 5.14pm local time with two laps behind the safety car and a rolling start.

Alonso sensed his first win in a decade but despite the tricky conditions, Verstappen kept Alonso behind, crossing the line 3.7 seconds clear of the Spaniard.

Max Verstappen navigated his way through a chaotic and dramatic rain-hit Dutch Grand Prix to equal Sebastian Vettel’s record of nine victories in a row.

Pole-sitter Verstappen found himself down in 13th place after seven drivers – including Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez – took advantage of a sudden first-lap downpour to move on to wet tyres.

The Dutchman regained the lead on lap 13 of 72 only for the race to be red-flagged with just eight laps to run after Zhou Guanyu crashed out following a second heavy shower.

A 43-minute suspension followed as the tyre barrier at the opening corner was repaired.

But Verstappen beat Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso in a six-lap dash to the chequered flag to match Vettel’s streak, set in 2013.

Perez finished third but was demoted a place after he was hit with a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane, allowing Pierre Gasly to take the final spot on the podium.

Carlos Sainz finished fifth, holding off Lewis Hamilton, with Lando Norris seventh. George Russell was forced to retire his Mercedes following a late duel with Norris.

Verstappen, whose Red Bull team remain unbeaten this season, extended his championship lead from 125 points to 138 ahead of next weekend’s Italian Grand Prix in Monza.

Dark clouds gathered in the minutes ahead of Sunday’s round in Zandvoort, 30 miles outside of Amsterdam, and just a handful of corners into the start, the heavens opened.

While Verstappen and the leading pack tiptoed their way round the 2.65-mile circuit, Perez – who started in seventh – was called in by his quick-thinking Red Bull team for the intermediate tyres.

With the rain still falling, Verstappen sensibly stopped the next time round but McLaren’s Lando Norris and the Mercedes of Russell stayed out on the slick rubber despite the worsening conditions.

Hamilton, who started 13th, was also sent round for another lap despite the seven-time world champion’s obvious concerns.

“We should have come in, man,” he said over the radio. “It is very wet.”

“Copy, Lewis,” said his race engineer Peter Bonnington. “We’re going to stay out. We’re going to have to brave this.”

But at the end of the third lap, Hamilton was in for wet tyres. He rejoined the track in last place. Russell was still sliding around on slicks before he was changed on to the wet rubber at the end of lap four. When the dust settled, Hamilton and Russell occupied 16th and 18th places.

“I was forecast a podium,” said Russell on the radio. “F***, how did we mess this up?”

By now the rain had relented and dry line was already starting to emerge, and, despite his early handicap, the all-conquering Verstappen was, predictably, on the march.

On lap six he raced past Gasly for third before moving up to second a lap later as he blasted ahead of Zhou. Perez was seven seconds up the road.

Verstappen was taking chunks out of Perez – on one lap as many as four seconds – before he reverted to slicks on lap 11. Perez stopped the next time round but emerged three seconds behind the flying Dutchman, who was now back in the lead, and back in control.

On lap 15, Logan Sargeant was back in the wall a day after crashing out in qualifying. The American was unharmed but the safety car was deployed to retrieve his machine.

Mercedes called Russell in for his third stop of the afternoon, putting him on the hardest, durable tyre in the hope it would see him through to the end of the race.

With Sargeant’s wounded Williams out of the way, the race resumed on lap 21. Verstappen controlled the restart to leave team-mate Perez trailing.

Verstappen raced off into the distance with Hamilton and Russell beginning their fightback through the pack. The Mercedes men were back in the top 10 but with only a dozen laps remaining, the rain returned with vengeance.

The drivers were back in the pits for intermediate tyres before Perez spun his Red Bull at the opening corner and lost second to Alonso.

As the downpour intensified, Alfa Romeo’s Zhou aquaplaned at the first corner and thudded into the tyre wall. Hamilton also ran off at the opening bend but managed to keep his Mercedes out of the barriers and rejoined the track. Race director Niels Wittich red-flagged the race.

After a lengthy suspension the event was back under way at 5.14pm local time with two laps behind the safety car and a rolling start.

Alonso sensed his first win in a decade but despite the tricky conditions, Verstappen kept Alonso behind, crossing the line 3.7 seconds clear of the Spaniard.

Max Verstappen has revealed Sebastian Vettel told him he will break his record of nine consecutive victories after the home favourite put his Red Bull on pole position for Sunday’s Dutch Grand Prix.

The unstoppable Verstappen will equal four-time world champion Vettel’s streak from 2013 if he takes the chequered flag in front of 105,000 expectant fans.

Verstappen starts his quest from the front after he topped a chaotic wet-dry qualifying session in Zandvoort. Verstappen finished nearly six tenths clear of second-placed Lando Norris with a mighty final lap.

George Russell qualified third for Mercedes, one place ahead of Alex Albon – the London-born driver continuing his impressive campaign with Williams. Lewis Hamilton lines up only 13th after he was surprisingly eliminated in Q2.

Verstappen dominated the opening half of the season, taking 10 victories from the 12 rounds so far, and he has emerged from the sport’s summer break still as the man to beat.

He last failed to win in Azerbaijan on April 30, and it will be a major surprise if his crushing run comes to a halt in front of his orange-clad army.

“After five wins in a row, Seb texted me to say, ‘well done with what you are doing at the moment, keep it up, you are going to get the record’,” said Verstappen following his eighth pole of the campaign.

“I was like, ‘that’s nine wins in a row, and that is something very impressive’. I never thought I would be able to get to eight. If it is possible tomorrow of course I go for it.

“But it is not something that is in the back of my head. I am not in this sport to try and break records. I am just here to win in the moment.”

Verstappen is in a league of his own as he closes in on a hat-trick of titles.

But it has been suggested that his reign – akin to Michael Schumacher’s emphatic dominance for Ferrari at the turn of the century – has been a turn-off for the sport’s booming fanbase.

“It is clear that unpredictability is what makes the sport exciting,” said Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff.

“You want to look at the television on Sunday and see a fight. That is not the case at the moment.

“But that is because one team and one driver are doing a much better job than anybody else, and we need to acknowledge that.”

While Verstappen has been aided by his all-conquering Red Bull machine, it is worth noting that his team-mate Sergio Perez – the only other driver to win a race this year – qualified seventh here, 1.3 seconds behind in the same car.

Qualifying started on a wet track before a dry line emerged for Q3. Two red flags followed as Logan Sargeant and Charles Leclerc crashed out.

By this stage, Hamilton was back in the Mercedes garage. The seven-time world champion appeared to be impeded by AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda and he failed to post a time fast enough to progress to Q3.

The incident was noted by the stewards, but Hamilton did not feel he lost time. However, Wolff added: “Tsunoda is a nice guy but he clearly impeded Lewis.

“The answer is to penalise. If you know you don’t go to prison for cheating tax, you cheat the tax. I don’t understand why these things are not penalised.

“You could say Lewis dived on the inside and it didn’t cost him much. But going from a dry line, to a wet line, and back to a dry line costs time and a tenth of a second would have put him into Q3.

“We need to be harsh on penalties and then people will start looking in their mirrors.”

Max Verstappen delighted his home crowd by taking pole position for Sunday’s Dutch Grand Prix.

In an incident-packed wet-dry session, the unstoppable double world champion delivered a crushing lap to finish half-a-second clear of Lando Norris, who qualified second for McLaren.

George Russell will start from third place for Mercedes with the impressive Alex Albon fourth. Lewis Hamilton was eliminated in Q2 and will line up from only 13th spot in Zandvoort.

Q3 was red-flagged twice. First when Logan Sargeant crashed out in his Williams. The American rookie lost control of his machine on the entry to Turn 2, sending him into the gravel and then the tyre wall.

Sargeant, 22, emerged unscathed from the accident but the force of the impact contributed to significant damage on the front of his machine.

The running was suspended for 20 minutes as Sargeant’s stricken Williams was removed and the barriers were repaired.

A dry line had emerged and it was Norris who put his McLaren at the top of the order before Charles Leclerc put his Ferrari into the wall.

Leclerc carried too much speed into the ninth bend and ran onto the grass and then into the Armco.

A six-minute stoppage followed with just four minutes and five seconds left on the clock, with Norris hoping to hold on to claim only his second career pole.

But Verstappen delivered an emphatic answer by racing to top spot with his final lap to huge roars from the Orange Army. On Sunday, he will bid to match Sebastian Vettel’s record of nine consecutive wins.

Hamilton revealed in the build-up to Sunday’s race that his goal for the second half of the season was to take runner-up spot in the championship.

But on Formula One’s return from its summer slumber, the seven-time world champion – who is currently fourth in the standings – will start way down the order following a disappointing qualifying session.

The British driver, 38, appeared to be impeded by AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda on his final run in Q2 and failed to deliver a time speedy enough to progress.

The stewards have noted the incident, but Hamilton, 41 points adrift of Sergio Perez, who is currently best of the rest behind team-mate Verstappen, now faces an uphill task to salvage a respectable result.

Fernando Alonso qualified fifth for Aston Martin, one place ahead of Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz, with Perez only seventh, 1.3 seconds behind team-mate Verstappen.

Liam Lawson has been handed his F1 debut here as a substitute for Daniel Ricciardo.

The 34-year-old Australian suffered a broken left wrist in a practice crash on Friday and has been ruled out of this weekend’s race with the prospect of missing further rounds, too.

In Ricciardo’s absence, New Zealander Lawson, 21, will start his maiden F1 race from 20th and last.

Max Verstappen topped a rain-interrupted final practice session for Sunday’s Dutch Grand Prix.

The concluding hour before qualifying was red-flagged on three occasions following a series of accidents in the tricky conditions at Zandvoort.

With the session a little more than 10 minutes old, Kevin Magnussen spun out in his Haas at Turn 3, before Zhou Guanyu beached his Alfa Romeo at the penultimate corner.

Liam Lawson – the New Zealander making his Formula One debut as a replacement for Daniel Ricciardo who suffered a broken wrist in practice – then performed a pirouette heading into the main straight.

Lawson, 21, grazed the tyre wall on the opposing side of the circuit which led to a third stoppage.

When the action resumed, Verstappen, who is bidding to equal Sebastian Vettel’s record of nine consecutive victories, set an impressive pace in front of his home crowd.

The Red Bull driver finished three tenths clear of George Russell, with the Mercedes driver the only man within one second of Verstappen.

Sergio Perez took third spot, one place ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso with Lewis Hamilton fifth for Mercedes.

Qualifying takes place at 3pm local time (2pm BST) with the unsettled weather conditions forecast to continue throughout the day.

Lando Norris said Max Verstappen’s dominance should not be taken for granted, hailing the Red Bull star as one of the greatest Formula One drivers that has ever lived.

Verstappen has won 10 of the 12 rounds so far and he will match Sebastian Vettel’s record of nine consecutive victories if, as widely expected, he triumphs again in front of 105,000 supporters at his home race in the Netherlands on Sunday.

The 25-year-old has starred since F1’s regulations were overhauled at the start of last season, with his comfortable victory at the concluding round before the break in Belgium his 19th from his last 23 outings.

He is a staggering 125 points clear in the standings as he closes in on a hat-trick of titles.

But it has been suggested that Verstappen’s reign in his all-conquering Red Bull machine – akin to Michael Schumacher’s emphatic dominance for Ferrari at the turn of the century – has been a turn-off for the sport’s booming fanbase.

However, McLaren’s Norris, a close friend of Verstappen’s, said: “We should definitely enjoy witnessing something like this. That’s better then just complaining because he’s doing so well.

“Of course, it would be nice to see him battle a bit more and work for a living more, but he proved enough of that when he raced Lewis (Hamilton) for the championship in 2021.

“He showed what a fighter he is and I can say without doubt that he is easily one of the best drivers ever. We shouldn’t take him for granted.”

In the build-up to this weekend’s event, Lewis Hamilton raised the prospect that Verstappen could win the 10 concluding races of the season.

There is even an outside chance that the Dutchman could wrap up the title at the Japanese Grand Prix on September 24, with half-a-dozen rounds still to run.

Verstappen’s Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez started the year with two wins from four but his challenge faded rapidly.

“Everyone has their days when they are beatable and I think Max has that, too,” added Norris.

“But it’s just that no one is able to prove it because no one is close enough. The closest guy should be his team-mate and he isn’t doing it.

“So, I wouldn’t be surprised if he won the rest of the races this year. I don’t think anyone would be surprised to be honest with you.

“It would be an incredible achievement to win nine in a row and he is definitely capable of doing it.

“Max has said many times that his career might not last long. He’s a guy that just wants to do what he enjoys. As soon as he doesn’t enjoy it he could be out of here. That’s just the kind of guy he is.”

Daniel Ricciardo has been ruled out of Sunday’s Dutch Grand Prix after he suffered a broken wrist in Zandvoort.

Ricciardo, who was due to take part in only his third comeback race, crashed out of practice on Friday and was in obvious pain when he emerged from his AlphaTauri cockpit.

The 34-year-old Australian was immediately taken to the medical centre before he was transported to a nearby hospital with his left arm in a sling.

A subsequent X-ray confirmed Ricciardo had sustained a break to the metacarpal on his left hand.

He will be replaced by Red Bull reserve driver Liam Lawson, 21, with the New Zealander to make his Formula One debut.

A statement from Ricciardo’s AlphaTauri team read: “After today’s incident during Free Practice 2 in Zandvoort, in which Daniel Ricciardo hit the barrier at Turn 3, he was brought to the local hospital and further examinations were carried out.

“An X-ray confirmed he sustained a break to a metacarpal on his left hand, and this injury will not allow him to continue his duties, so he will be replaced by the team’s reserve driver Liam Lawson for the remainder of this weekend. The team wishes him all the best for the quickest possible recovery.”

The flashpoint happened just 10 minutes into the second running when Oscar Piastri and Ricciardo crashed at relatively low speed within moments of each other at the same corner.

Australian Piastri, who has enjoyed an impressive rookie campaign, lost control of his McLaren through the banked left-handed Turn 3 before slamming into the barriers.

Moments later, Ricciardo, who appeared distracted by the sight of Piastri’s wounded machine, locked up under braking before following his compatriot into the tyre wall. He was still holding the steering wheel when he made impact with the Armco.

“Ah f***, my hand, f***,” he said over the radio.

Following Ricciardo’s dismissal by McLaren at the end of last season, and his career in apparent tatters, Ricciardo was handed a second chance by AlphaTauri, racing in Hungary and Belgium before the sport’s summer break.

Ricciardo, an eight-time grand prix winner, was hopeful of using the concluding 10 rounds to prove he was worthy of a promotion back to Red Bull in place of Sergio Perez.

But his plans now hang in the balance. The races come thick and fast, with the Italian Grand Prix to follow next weekend, and it is unclear at this stage when Ricciardo will be able to return to the cockpit.

When the action resumed after Ricciardo’s crash, Lando Norris denied Max Verstappen a practice double by setting the pace.

More than 300,000 spectators will descend on the coastal town of Zandvoort, 30 miles outside of Amsterdam, as the sport emerges from its summer slumber.

The majority of whom will do so in the expectation of watching Verstappen march to his ninth consecutive victory – equalling a record set by Sebastian Vettel for Red Bull in 2013 – as he closes in on a hat-trick of world championships.

But McLaren’s Norris raised the suggestion he could spoil Verstappen’s homecoming party after he ended the day with the fastest time.

While practice speed is treated with caution, the British driver edged out Verstappen, who was fastest in the first running, by just 0.023 seconds. The impressive Alex Albon finished third for Williams, one place ahead of Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton.

The seven-time world champion finished three tenths adrift in his Mercedes with team-mate George Russell only 14th in the order.

Ricciardo’s team-mate, Yuki Tsunoda, finished fifth with Pierre Gasly sixth and Sergio Perez, 125 points behind Verstappen in the drivers’ championship, seventh.

Daniel Ricciardo has been ruled out of this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix after suffering a broken wrist in practice, the PA news agency understands.

The 34-year-old Australian, in only his third race back on the grid, crashed out of second practice in Zandvoort.

It is believed he will be replaced by Liam Lawson with the New Zealander to make his Formula One debut.

Lando Norris denied Max Verstappen a practice double by setting the pace for Sunday’s grand prix – after Ricciardo crashed out and was taken to hospital.

More than 300,000 spectators will descend on the coastal town of Zandvoort, 30 miles outside of Amsterdam, as Formula One emerges from its summer slumber.

The majority of whom will do so in the expectation of watching Verstappen march to his ninth consecutive victory – equalling a record set by Sebastian Vettel for Red Bull in 2013 – as he closes in on a hat-trick of world championships.

But McLaren’s Norris raised the suggestion he could spoil Verstappen’s homecoming party after he ended the day with the fastest time.

While practice speed is treated with caution, the British driver edged out Verstappen, who was fastest in the first running, by just 0.023 seconds. The impressive Alex Albon finished third for Williams, one place ahead of Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton.

The seven-time world champion finished three tenths adrift in his Mercedes with team-mate George Russell only 14th in the order.

“That was a great day for me,” said Hamilton. “I woke up this morning so excited to get back in the car and from the first lap it felt like we had a good starting point to work from.

“The car is feeling more competitive here, so we want to hold on to that and see if we can extract more for tomorrow.”

The second session was suspended after just 10 minutes when Norris’ team-mate Oscar Piastri and AlphaTauri’s Ricciardo crashed out at the same corner.

Australian Piastri, who has enjoyed an impressive rookie campaign, lost control of his McLaren through the banked left-handed Turn 3 before slamming into the barriers.

Moments later, Ricciardo, who appeared distracted by the sight of Piastri’s wounded McLaren, locked up under braking before following his compatriot into the tyre wall.

“Ah f***, my hand, f***,” the 34-year-old said over the radio after the incident.

Both men played no further part in the running as their damaged cars were towed back to their respective garages.

Ricciardo was still holding the steering wheel as he hit the wall and he was taken to the medical centre. He was then pictured leaving with his left arm in a sling, and was subsequently taken to a nearby hospital for further checks on his wrist.

The Australian will now sit out the remainder of the weekend.

Red Bull motorsport adviser Dr Helmut Marko said after the crash: “We don’t know exactly what it is yet, but he was in a lot of pain. His wrist has suffered damage, but we have to wait for the diagnosis.

“This is a new situation for us. We will first wait to see how Ricciardo is doing and whether he can drive or not, and then we discuss who gets in the car.”

Ferrari have endured a lacklustre campaign and there was little for the Italian giants to cheer on Friday, with Charles Leclerc 11th and team-mate Carlos Sainz 16th.

Ricciardo’s team-mate, Yuki Tsunoda, finished fifth with Pierre Gasly sixth and Sergio Perez, 125 points behind Verstappen in the drivers’ championship, seventh.

Lando Norris denied Max Verstappen a practice double by setting the pace for Sunday’s Dutch Grand Prix – after Daniel Ricciardo crashed out and was taken to hospital.

More than 300,000 spectators will descend on the coastal town of Zandvoort, 30 miles outside of Amsterdam, as Formula One emerges from its summer slumber.

The majority of whom will do so in the expectation of watching Verstappen march to his ninth consecutive victory – equalling a record set by Sebastian Vettel for Red Bull in 2013 – as he closes in on a hat-trick of world championships.

But McLaren’s Norris raised the suggestion he could spoil Verstappen’s homecoming party after he ended the day with the fastest time.

While practice speed is treated with caution, the British driver edged out Verstappen, who was fastest in the first running, by just 0.023 seconds. The impressive Alex Albon finished third for Williams, one place ahead of Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton.

The seven-time world champion finished three tenths adrift in his Mercedes with team-mate George Russell only 14th in the order.

The second session was suspended after just 10 minutes when Norris’ team-mate Oscar Piastri and AlphaTauri’s Ricciardo crashed out at the same corner.

Australian Piastri, who has enjoyed an impressive rookie campaign, lost control of his McLaren through the banked left-handed Turn 3 before slamming into the barriers.

Moments later, Ricciardo, who appeared distracted by the sight of Piastri’s wounded McLaren, locked up under braking before following his compatriot into the tyre wall.

“Ah f***, my hand, f***,” the 34-year-old said over the radio after the incident.

Both men played no further part in the running as their damaged cars were towed back to their respective garages.

Ricciardo was still holding the steering wheel as he hit the wall, and he was taken to the medical centre. He was then pictured leaving with his left arm in a sling, and was subsequently taken to a nearby hospital for further checks on his wrist, raising some doubt over his participation for the remainder of the weekend.

Ferrari have endured a lacklustre campaign and there was little for the Italian giants to cheer on Friday, with Charles Leclerc 11th and team-mate Carlos Sainz 16th.

Ricciardo’s team-mate, Yuki Tsunoda, finished fifth with Pierre Gasly sixth and Sergio Perez, 125 points behind Verstappen in the drivers’ championship, seventh.

Max Verstappen picked up where he left off by posting the fastest time in opening practice for the Dutch Grand Prix.

Verstappen, who has won 10 of the 12 rounds so far and will match Sebastian Vettel’s record of nine consecutive victories if he triumphs again on Sunday, finished 0.278 seconds clear of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso.

Lewis Hamilton took third spot for Mercedes, three tenths adrift of Verstappen, with Sergio Perez fourth in the other Red Bull.

Verstappen dominated the opening half of the Formula One season to establish a 125-point championship lead in his pursuit of a third straight world title.

On Thursday, Hamilton raised the prospect of the Dutchman winning all of the remaining 10 rounds, and on the evidence of the first running, he will head into the weekend in front of an expectant Zandvoort crowd as the clear favourite to continue his commanding streak.

For Hamilton, the seven-time world champion said his goal for the second half of the season is to finish runner-up in the drivers’ standings.

The 38-year-old is currently fourth, 41 points behind Perez, who occupies second spot, and he will be relatively pleased with his opening salvo. Mercedes team-mate George Russell finished 11th, the best part of a second down.

Haas announced ahead of this weekend’s race that Nico Hulkenberg will be retained for a second term with the American team.

But the veteran German crashed out of practice after losing control of his machine through the penultimate corner. With his Haas beached in the gravel, the running was suspended.

Over at Ferrari, Charles Leclerc was only 16th, three spots ahead of Robert Shwartzman, a junior driver for the Italian team who stood in for Carlos Sainz for first practice.

McLaren driver Lando Norris finished sixth, one place behind Williams’ Alex Albon.

Second practice gets under way at 4pm local time (3pm BST).

Lewis Hamilton fears there is a “high chance” that Max Verstappen will win all 10 remaining races this season – and believes the Dutchman’s crushing dominance could last until 2026.

Following a four-week summer shutdown, Formula One fires up this weekend at Verstappen’s home round in the Netherlands.

Verstappen has won the last eight races and he will match Sebastian Vettel’s record of nine on the spin for Red Bull in 2013 if he triumphs in front of his orange-clad Dutch fans here on Sunday.

Such is the dominance of Verstappen’s machine – and the two-time world champion’s supreme form – there is a feeling in the paddock, not only that Red Bull could become the first team to go through a campaign unbeaten, but that Verstappen could be victorious at each of the concluding 10 rounds.

“There is a high chance that he (Verstappen) will win every race,” said Hamilton, 38. “He hasn’t made any mistakes and the team hasn’t made many this year. They might win everything.

“But later on in the year, maybe we will get closer and we are hopeful we can challenge them at some point – whether that is this weekend, or who knows where? If there are any mistakes or mishaps, we will be right there to capitalise.”

Verstappen has dominated since F1’s regulations were overhauled at the start of last season, with his comfortable victory at the concluding round before the break in Belgium his 10th from 12 so far and his 19th from his last 23 outings.

He is a staggering 125 points clear in the standings as he closes in on a hat-trick of titles.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc predicted on Thursday that it would be “very, very difficult” to catch Verstappen and Red Bull before the sport’s next major rule change in 2026.

And Hamilton continued: “The fact is Red Bull are ahead and they have most likely started development on next year’s car a month before anybody else. It is very, very possible that Charles could be right.

“We are working on the steep gradient to develop our car and close the gap. Whether or not we can, next year will be the proof.”

Hamilton’s £40million-a-year contract expires at the end of the season and the Briton said on Thursday that were there was no update on his next deal, despite team principal Toto Wolff claiming – ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix on June 18 – that his star driver’s future would be resolved in “days rather than weeks”.

Hamilton is fourth in the standings, 41 points adrift of Verstappen’s Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez who occupies the runner-up spot, while Mercedes are second in the team standings, an eye-watering 256 points behind Red Bull, but 51 points clear of Ferrari.

“It is a huge achievement to be second in the championship and it is something I feel has been overlooked,” said Hamilton. “We want to win but I am really proud of the team and the steps we have taken.

“The guys think this track is not too different to Budapest and our car was good in Budapest. Even last year when the car was not great in Zandvoort, we were closer to the front.

“George (Russell) finished second and at one point I was hunting down the lead so I am hoping we are closer or in shooting range of a podium this weekend.

“We have the belief we will get there. And my goal is to try and keep that second place in the constructors’ championship and hunt down second in the drivers’ standings.”

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