By Robert Haile

Max Verstappen claimed his eighth victory in a row as he came back from a sixth place start as Red Bull have sealed another record.

A five place grid penalty might have taken Verstappen from starting on pole to sixth but that didn’t stop the Two Time World Champion from making it eight in a row and twelve for Red Bull as they sealed the best start to a Formula One season.

Championship leader Verstappen said: “I knew that the car was going to be quick today, and this is one of the best tracks to drive when you have a good car. GP and I were just having a laugh today, we’re honest with each other and that’s how we operate, there’s no need to worry.

“The first half of the season has been much better than anyone would have ever dreamt of, how we are performing as a Team and winning so many races in a row is incredible.

“We’re definitely enjoying the moment, but we also want to keep this momentum and level for a long time, so hopefully after the summer break we’re strong again in Zandvoort.”

The Dutch driver picked his way through the field over the 44 lap race and survived the mid-race shower that threatened a move to intermediate tyres.

Team mate Sergio Perez also worked his way past Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc as the trio completed the podium.

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton took fourth with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso taking fifth ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell.

After losing out at the start McLaren’s switch to soft tyres when they rain looked likely took Lando Norris up to seventh with Lance Stroll’s Asto Martin, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda completing the points.

A long stint for Pierre Gasly was undone by a slow pit stop as he finished eleventh with Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu bringing their Alfa Romeo’s home behind Gasly.

Alex Albon came home in fourteenth for Williams, Kevin Magnussen’s Haas took fifteenth as AlphaTauri’s Daniel Ricciardo ended in sixteenth with Williams’ Logan Sargeant and Nico Hulkenberg’s Haas the last of the finishers.

An early collision between Oscar Piastri’s McLaren and Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari ended the pairs race early with the McLaren stopping on track and Sainz eventually being brought into the pits to retire.

Max Verstappen’s lead is increased to 125 points ahead of his teammate Sergio Perez in the Drivers Championship with Fernando Alonso 40 points off Perez in third.

The Constructors Championship has Red Bull 256 points ahead of Mercedes in second with Aston Martin 51 points behind them in third as Ferrari close the gap to 5 points in fourth.

Formula One now heads into its summer break with some questions for teams to answer before returning at Zandvoort for the Dutch Grand Prix on August 25-27.