Verstappen victorious in rain at Dutch Grand Prix to equal record of nine wins in row

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.

The win, a 23rd for Red Bull from the past 24 races, extends Verstappen's lead in the drivers' championship to 138 points ahead of teammate Sergio Perez in second place.

Pole-sitter Verstappen found himself down in 13th place after seven drivers – including 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.

Afterwards, Verstappen said: “Incredible and today they didn’t make it easy for us with the weather to make all the right calls but incredibly proud, I already had goosebumps when they were playing the national anthem before the start. Even with all the bad weather and the rain the fans were still going at it, so an incredible atmosphere.

“I’m going to enjoy this weekend, it’s always tough, the pressure is always on to perform and very happy of course to win here.”

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said: "The