Certainly, mother nature at least left nothing on the table in an attempt to bring a dramatic edge to the Dutch Grand Prix. Amid the sand dunes of Zandvoort over the course of two and a half hours the wind blew, the rain crashed in with two separate, sudden, pitch invasions and then disappeared. Yet amid it all the one certainty of Formula One in 2023 stood utterly imperturbable. Come rain or shine it is Max Verstappen who takes the chequered flag.
The Dutchman was roared home by an adoring home crowd of 105,000 who exuded an absolute determination to enjoy every second of the afternoon even as they battened down the hatches under flimsy ponchos and the wind threatened to tear precarious plastic pint pots from their hands. They were rewarded as their man secured a remarkable record.
