F1 Takeaways: Rain or shine, unstoppable Verstappen ties consecutive wins record

Max Verstappen picked up where he left off following Formula One's summer break as he took home the checkered flag Sunday at the Dutch Grand Prix.

Verstappen has now won nine consecutive races with a total of 11 victories on the season as the Red Bull driver remains on course for an uncontested third straight world championship.

Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso finished second and Alpine's Pierre Gasly took third after Verstappen's teammate Sergio Perez was assessed a late penalty for speeding through the pits.

Here's what you need to know from the Dutch GP:

MAX THE MAILMAN DELIVERS IN THE RAIN

Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor hail shall keep Verstappen from claiming another victory. Well, maybe just rain for this mailman as Verstappen delivered another standout performance to tie Sebastian Vettel's all-time consecutive wins record. The fact it took place at Verstappen's home event was just the icing on the cake.

Vettel pulled off the feat a decade ago when he drove for Red Bull, which is either a coincidence or quite fitting.

It seemed like the heavy rain right after the start would disrupt the status quo. Perez pitted for intermediate tires first and was then able to grab the lead when pole-sitter Verstappen boxed a couple of laps later. Whatever advantage Perez had evaporated as fast as the puddles though. When the skies cleared, Verstappen pitted before Perez during their second round of stops for soft tires and breezed by before his teammate could even rejoin the track.

Not even another torrential downpour and a late red flag that bunched up the field provided much of a threat to Verstappen, who scored his 46th career victory.

Verstappen can look to take sole possession of the consecutive wins record next week at the Italian Grand Prix. He's inching towards Vettel on the all-time wins list, too. Vettel sits third at 53 victories with Alain Prost (51) in fourth followed by Verstappen. Reminder: There are nine races remaining on the calendar.

ALONSO BACK ON TRACK

The Alonso renaissance has returned. Alonso matched his best result of the season and scored his first podium since he finished second at the Canadian Grand Prix back in June.

The 42-year-old Spaniard had been losing his grip on third place in the championship as Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes narrowed the gap down to one point.

Alonso, who qualified fifth, came roaring out of the gate gaining two spots on the opening lap that pushed him up into a podium position. It looked like a lengthy pit stop on Lap 49 would prove costly, but Alonso shook it off and regained the two spots he had lost to get back up into third.

He gained another step on the podium when Perez took an unexpected detour (more on that in just a little bit) and to top it off, Alonso set the fastest lap time to score a bonus point. Alonso remains third in the standings with a more comfortable 12-point cushion over his long-time rival Hamilton.

DOUBLE PODIUM DENIED

Perez's luck finally ran out as there was no Red Bull sandwich on the podium.

Perez nearly hydroplaned his way out of the race when the late downpour arrived. It also looked like Perez got caught in an unfortunate position when he then pitted just as the red flag dropped, thus preventing him from returning to the track.

He was able to slot into sixth for the restart and cross the line third but that penalty for speeding through the pits was enough to knock him off the podium. It's a mistake the veteran Perez shouldn't have made especially since with the rain he should have been driving slower than normal anyway.

LIKED BY PIERRE GASLY

Gasly turned in quite the performance after starting 12th on the grid and picked up his first podium since joining Alpine this season. Oddly enough Gasly was issued a penalty early in the race for speeding in the pits and he was the benefactor when Perez was handed a similar infraction.

It was a good weekend overall for Alpine as they were one of three teams to score double points with Gasly's teammate Esteban Ocon cracking the top 10. Amid such an inconsistent season mired in sixth place in the constructors' standings, it's good to see what the Alpine drivers are capable of when things go their way.

LAWSON'S LUCKY NUMBER

If there was such a thing as F1 Central Scouting, Liam Lawson would likely be ranked as the top prospect. The 21-year-old from New Zealand finished third in the Formula 2 championship last season (one point ahead of current Williams driver Logan Sargeant) and is second in the Japan-based Super Formula series this year with three wins through seven events.

Lawson, who serves as a reserve driver for Red Bull, got the call at AlphaTauri after Daniel Ricciardo fractured his left hand during Friday's practice.

Expectations should have been low for Lawson's maiden voyage considering he was filling in for an injured driver on the last-place team and it turned about to be quite the chaotic race.

Kudos to Lawson for weathering the storm and bringing his car home in one piece. He even gave Charles Leclerc a bit of a scare when he passed the Ferrari on Lap 41. Sure, Leclerc was nursing a damaged vehicle and quickly regained the spot but it was intriguing to see Lawson hanging tough. (We'd also chalk up Lawson's early penalty for speeding through the pits as a "rookie mistake" except even Perez got dinged for that.)

Lawson finished a respectable 13th ahead of AlphaTauri teammate Yuki Tsunoda, who had crossed the line in that position but was handed a five-second penalty for colliding with George Russell of Mercedes and was bumped two places down to 15th.

It's unknown how long Ricciardo will be out of action, but it's a sure bet we haven't seen the last of Lawson.

PIT STOPS

• Sure it was a double points finish for McLaren but it still feels like a missed opportunity as they botched the pit strategy. Lando Norris started on the front row beside Verstappen in second but was a sitting duck as he remained out while practically everyone else in contention dove into the pits. Norris came home seventh as Hamilton beat him to the finish line by a slim 0.023 seconds. McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri started eighth and also slipped finishing ninth.

• When it rains, it pours in the figurative sense for Leclerc as it seemed like nothing could go right Sunday for the Ferrari driver. Leclerc called an audible to pit early for intermediate tires, but his team wasn't ready, leading to a far lengthier stop. An incident with Piastri resulted in critical damage to Leclerc's car and a third retirement this season. That's as many as Leclerc had all of last season and only Ocon has as many DNFs in 2023. Meanwhile, teammate Carlos Sainz finished fifth to jump ahead of Russell and Leclerc for fifth place in the drivers' championship.

• Thanks to Alex Albon's eight-place finish, Williams snapped a tie with Haas to take sole possession of seventh in the constructors' championship. It might not seem like much but each spot means a difference of millions at the end of the year through revenue sharing. Haas and Alfa Romeo left the Dutch GP empty-handed as, despite all the rain, both teams extended their droughts.