Alonso feared for Zandvoort escape with late Verstappen move

Fernando Alonso joked he would not have been able to leave Zandvoort if he attempted to overtake Max Verstappen for the lead of the Dutch Grand Prix.

Alonso was behind the home favourite for a six-lap dash to the finish in wet conditions after torrential rainfall and a crash for Alfa Romeo's Zhou Guanyu triggered a late-race red flag.

The Spaniard was chasing his 33rd career victory but couldn’t find a way past Verstappen, who secured his ninth consecutive win to tie the all-time F1 record.

“It is one of those races when it is difficult to concentrate and stay focused for such a long period of time,” said Alonso, who secured his seventh podium of the season and first since the Canadian Grand Prix.

“I think this is a very special race track. I’m happy for Max.

“I did think about trying a move at the last restart but then I thought maybe I couldn’t exit the circuit. So I stayed calm in second.”

Alonso hails 'trust' in AMR23

“It was a very intense race, at the beginning with the wet conditions we were very, very fast,” added the two-time F1 champion.

“We stopped maybe one lap too late, but the same as the leaders. The car was flying, very competitive and easy to drive.

“In these conditions, you need a car that you can trust and I did trust the car. So I did enjoy it.

“Thanks to all of the fans, the energy that we have here in Zandvoort is very unique. Two years ago when this race came, I thought I would never experience a Zandvoort podium because I was not in a position to think about that."