Verstappen has one final shot at historic Dutch GP record

The final edition of the Dutch Grand Prix will carry extra significance for the four-time world champion, who will have one last opportunity to equal a Zandvoort record that has remained untouched for almost six decades. With the circuit set to disappear from the F1 calendar after the 2026 race, the Dutchman is running out of time to draw level with Clark as the most successful driver in the history of the event.

Clark currently stands alone at the top with four Dutch Grand Prix victories. The two-time world champion enjoyed remarkable success at Zandvoort during the 1960s, winning three consecutive editions in 1963, 1964 and 1965 before adding a fourth and final triumph in 1967.

Verstappen moved within touching distance of that benchmark after the Dutch Grand Prix returned to the calendar in 2021. Racing in front of his home crowd, the Red Bull driver immediately made Zandvoort his territory, winning three years in a row from 2021 to 2023 and moving to within a single victory of Clark's record.

Verstappen has reached the 2026 summer break without a Grand Prix victory, something that has almost never happened since he became a Red Bull driver. After 11 rounds, the four-time world champion is still searching for his first win of the campaign, marking a major departure from what has become the norm throughout his time with the team.

Leaving aside his rookie season with Toro Rosso in 2015, Verstappen has only once previously gone into the summer break without standing on the top step of the podium. That came in 2017, when he endured a difficult opening part of the campaign and needed to wait until round 15 in Malaysia to secure his first victory of the year.

His other Red Bull seasons followed a very different pattern. Verstappen announced himself immediately after joining the team in 2016 by winning the Spanish Grand Prix on his debut, while his first success of 2018 arrived at the ninth round in Austria. The following season, he reached the break with two victories to his name after winning in Austria and Germany.

That run continued uninterrupted between 2020 and 2025, with Verstappen recording at least one victory before the summer shutdown in each of those six seasons.