Max Verstappen converted pole position into victory at the Dutch Grand Prix for the third year in a row, navigating an action-packed, rain-hit encounter to take the chequered flag ahead of Fernando Alonso and Pierre Gasly and draw level with Sebastian Vettel on nine successive F1 wins.

It all began with spits of rain before the start of the race that dramatically turned into a shower on the first lap, prompting split strategies up and down the order as Verstappen headed a pack of drivers who initially stayed out on slicks and team mate Perez led a group into the pits to take on intermediates.

What followed was a frenetic opening phase as those who made an early switch to intermediates rose to the fore, while those who stayed out longer on slicks lost a hatful of positions, prior to the rain easing off and the track gradually drying up.

With the Red Bulls running those aforementioned alternate strategies, it was Perez who led the way as the race settled down, while Verstappen had fallen back to fourth – behind Zhou Guanyu and Gasly – and had work to do to reclaim P1.

That led to another flurry of pit lane activity, and a red flag after Zhou crashed out, bringing a seven-lap dash to the flag when the action resumed and serving up one last test for reigning double world champion Verstappen to overcome.

Overcome it Verstappen did as he kept his cool at the slippery restart and managed the gap back to Alonso and Perez with aplomb, confirming his hard-fought triumph and equalling Vettel’s victory record that has stood since the 2013 season.