Max Verstappen was left delighted by a stellar performance at Zandhoort after victory in the first Dutch Grand Prix since 1985.
The 23-year-old was under heavy pressure ahead of his first-ever home Grand Prix, with no Dutch driver finishing higher than fifth in the race previously.
A six-point swing in the standings puts Verstappen with a narrow three-point advantage heading into the Italian Grand Prix at Monca next weekend in the last of a triple-header to resume the season.
For now, Verstappen will lap up the plaudits and the atmosphere from a spectacular weekend of racing where the Dutch fans made their return to the Formula 1 calendar a memorable one.
"As you can hear, it's just incredible. The expectations were very high going into the weekend and it's never easy to fulfil that," he said after the race.
"I'm so happy to win here, to take the lead in the championship, it's just an amazing day, it's incredible.
"It's definitely a very good day. The start was very important and I think we did that well, then Mercedes tried to make it very difficult for is but we countered them really well. We can be really pleased by the whole performance today."
Lewis Hamilton tried to push to spoil the party but was unsuccessful in his attempt but hailed the atmosphere created by the supporters.
"What a race, what a crowd. It's been an amazing weekend, Max did an amazing job and congratulations to him," he said.
"I raced him flat out and pushed him as hard as I could but they were just too quick for us. I've had an amazing time here in Holland so thank you to the crowd.
"The last lap was one of the best parts of the race for me. This track is just incredible on a single lap with low fuel, this is now one of my favourite tracks so I'm looking forward to coming back next year."