Local legend Max Verstappen won a fourth straight race in front of 100,000 adoring fans in the Formula One Dutch Grand Prix on Sunday.
Despite showing some competitiveness in qualifying, Ferrari wasn't even close to challenging the Red Bull driver, who with each race is taking another step closer to his second consecutive world title.
"It’s incredible to win again. It’s always special to win your home grand prix. I’m proud to be Dutch!" Verstappen said.
Mercedes tried to put up a fight and take advantage of pit stop strategies under safety car periods during the race, but the efforts were also not enough to stop Verstappen.
Behind the championship leader were George Russell of Mercedes in second and Charles Leclerc of Ferrari in third.
Leclerc had a minor attack attempt against Verstappen in the first turn, but the Dutchman had no trouble holding on to his position.
By the half-mark, Verstappen had a large advantage over his contenders, but a little drama developed once a virtual safety car period was in place on lap 47 after Yuki Tsunoda of Alpha Tauri had a series of issues and stopped on track.
While Ferrari had stopped both cars before the VSC period, both Mercedes drivers and Verstappen pitted for fresh tires, with the Dutchman coming out in the lead ahead of the Mercedes duo.
"We were a little unlucky with the VSC, I don't know if it would have changed anything but Max was too quick today," Leclerc recognized after the race.
Shortly afterward, the safety car was deployed after the Alfa Romeo of Valtteri Bottas stopped on the main straight. Verstappen and Russell decided to pit again for soft and faster tires, while Hamilton stayed out on mediums to take the lead.
The Briton's reign, however, didn't last long, as Verstappen easily retook the first place once the safety car was in. From this point, the Dutchman simply had to manage his lead before crossing the line, to the frenzy of the home crowd.
"VSC, Safety Car, making the right calls, it worked out really well. I had a good run on the restart, I had a bit more top speed to attack into Turn 1," the Dutchman said.
Russell celebrated the "incredible pace" Mercedes showed on track and said "this gives us a lot of confidence moving forward." Teammate Hamilton was fourth and sounded very disappointed on the radio with the team's strategy.
Sergio Perez was fifth in the other Red Bull, followed by Fernando Alonso of Alpine and Lando Norris of McLaren, who had an entertaining battle in the midfield.
Ferrari's Carlos Sainz was eighth after receiving a five-second penalty for unsafe release in the pit lane. Esteban Ocon of Alpine and Lance Stroll of Aston Martin completed the top 10.
Mick Schumacher of Haas, who hoped for points starting eighth, endured a painfully long pit stop, losing some precious positions and finishing 13th. German countryman Sebastian Vettel was right behind in 14th with Aston Martin.
Next week, F1 completes its triple header with the Italian Grand Prix at the iconic Monza circuit.
Verstappen heads to Italy with 310 points, 109 more than Leclerc and Perez, both with 201 points.
