Lewis Hamilton came close to spoiling the Max Verstappen party at the Dutch Grand Prix – but was unable to prevent the Red Bull star from overtaking in the late stages as he bemoaned a Mercedes strategy error that saw him tumble out of the podium places.
A breathless race saw Mercedes live up to the hype they have received this weekend. Ferrari were unable to challenge the home favourite, but both Hamilton and George Russell were flying on hard tyres and putting race leader Verstappen under intense pressure during the middle stages.
But everything was changed by a virtual safety car, followed by the real thing. Hamilton took the lead of the race as Verstappen pitted for soft tyres, but Russell also came in under the main safety car and so the seven-time world champion lost his buffer, and was duly overtaken by the Dutchman.
