Marko reveals Verstappen Alonso fear in record chase

Red Bull Motorsport Advisor Helmut Marko has conceded Fernando Alonso was a 'worrying' threat to Max Verstappen's Dutch Grand Prix victory.

A torrential downpour at Zandvoort and a crash for Alfa Romeo's Zhou Guanyu caused the race to be suspended on lap 64, leading to a rolling restart before a six-lap dash to the finish as Verstappen led the field with Alonso behind him in second place.

Though the championship leader had appeared to have the fastest car throughout the race, the Dutchman was put under pressure from Alonso at the restart, with the Spaniard closing to within one second of Verstappen.

But Verstappen was able to pull away once his tyres had reached a working temperature to secure a popular victory at his home circuit.

"This race was very stressful, at least for me, especially after the late restart with Fernando Alonso behind us," Marko told Motorsport.nl.

"We, and therefore Max's car, always need a little more time to warm up the tyres than Alonso in the Aston Martin. That could also have something to do with the tyre pressures.

"You could see that Alonso gave everything. At one point he was only six-tenths behind Max, so that was the most worrying situation for me on Sunday. Then my heart rate went up.

"Anyway, Max kept that perfectly under control and once he got the Intermediate [tyres] up to temperature, he was able to control it again."

Verstappen makes everything look 'easy'

Verstappen's win equalled Sebastian Vettel's record of nine consecutive Grand Prix wins – a streak also achieved at the wheel of a Red Bull in 2013.

Comparing the two drivers, Marko hailed the ease with which Verstappen takes everything in his stride, noting that even a pre-race brush with royalty did not faze the Dutchman.

"They are both great drivers, but Max is the new generation," said Marko.

"What strikes me most about Max, also compared to others, is that he does everything so easily. You saw last weekend how much pressure the whole of the Netherlands puts on him.

"But he was even talking to the king for a while before the start, and then remained calm under all circumstances."