Round 14/23: Review of the Dutch Grand Prix

Max Verstappen won the Dutch Grand Prix in front of his home crowd for the 3^rd time in a row and his 9^th consecutive Grand Prix victory equalling the record set by Sebastian Vettel in 2013. Fernando Alonso returned to the podium by finishing P2 with some impressive overtakes in the wet while Pierre Gasly was promoted to P3 after a penalty was awarded to Sergio Perez for speeding in the pit lane, earning him his first podium since Baku 2021.

Two main race strategies were in play for the weekend: a combination of Softs, Mediums, and Softs with 2 pitstops or a combination of Mediums and Hards with 1 pitstop. The formation lap began with a rain forecast within the next five minutes. In response, nearly all drivers, with the exception of Lewis Hamilton, chose the soft tire compound for better grip. Lewis, on the other hand, went with the mediums, likely hoping to make up places as the race unfolded.

As the race began, Max Verstappen and Lando Norris made strong starts, while Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon lost positions to Fernando Alonso as rain started to fall on the track. By the end of Lap 1, Sergio opted to pit onto the inters, while the other top drivers chose to remain on the track. Elsewhere on the rain-drenched circuit, Fernando Alonso executed a masterful move to secure P2 by passing Lando Norris on dry tires in treacherous conditions. With the rain intensifying, those who pitted at the end of the first lap gained significant time on their out lap, ultimately translating into improved positions.

After the first pit stops, Sergio found himself in P1, followed by Zhou Guanyu in P2 and Pierre Gasly in P3. George Russell, who chose to stay out after Lap 1, lost chunks of time to Sergio and eventually pitted at the end of the third lap dropping to P18. Lewis Hamilton, in the other Mercedes, ended up in P20. Mercedes' strategy for Hamilton was questionable, as he had started in P13 and had little to lose by pitting early.

Sergio had a gap of over 14 seconds on Max but Max’s incredible pace on the inters meant that he could nearly erase all of the lead in just a couple of laps. With the track evolving, Lewis triggered the second round of pitstops into softs. In the Red Bull garage, the team chose to pit Max before the race leader and this led to Max comfortably undercutting Sergio and regaining the lead of the race. Pierre held up his position on the inters for too long as Fernando could undercut him into P3. Notably, Kevin Magnussen emerged as the gainer in this round of pitstops, advancing to P7. Unfortunately, his gains were short-lived as the Haas car demonstrated poor race pace, resulting in a loss of positions as the race progressed.

Logan Sargent brought in the safety car on lap 16 after he crashed after a loss in hydraulic pressure resulting in the loss of his power steering. Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc struggled for pace throughout the race, possibly due to floor damage from his contact with McLaren earlier. He eventually retired at the end of lap 41.

Yuki Tsunoda put up a strong defense for P6 during most of the race, fending off challenges from Alex, Lando, Esteban Ocon, and Lewis. Alphatauri was hopeful for rain to gain an advantage through pit stops, but unfortunately, the rain arrived a bit too late. Yuki’s competitors, armed with fresher tires, quickly caught up after their pit stops. As a result, Yuki lost all the positions he had gained and fell out of contention for points. In the other Alphatauri, Liam Lawson delivered an impressive performance in his first outing by finishing P13, particularly considering the challenging race conditions. Liam’s performance underscored why he was highly regarded within the F1 community.

On lap 60, as rain started to fall, Sergio made a quick decision to switch to intermediate tires without confirmation from his team, resulting in a slower pit stop. Max Verstappen and Fernando Alonso followed suit on the next lap, while Alex Albon chose to hold onto his tires, hoping the rain was only a light shower. In contrast, Alpine made a different gamble, opting for full wet tires with Esteban Ocon.

The rain intensified rapidly, catching some drivers off guard. Intermediates proved inadequate as several drivers struggled to maintain control, prompting them to pit for full wet tires. Unfortunately, the situation took a turn when Zhou Guanyu crashed, bringing out the red flag. Sergio, who had been in the pits during this change in conditions, lost positions and fell back to P6. Since an order could not be established after the red flag, race officials decided to restore the order to the positions held on the earlier lap. This meant that Sergio was given the opportunity to restart the race from P3.

In his final pit stop, Sergio was penalized for overspeeding in the pit lane, resulting in a 5-second penalty. The race restarted on lap 67 with a rolling start. Max Verstappen faced initial pressure from Fernando Alonso but managed to maintain his position and gradually built a gap once again. Unfortunately, Sergio couldn't overtake Fernando, and in the process, he couldn't build a 5-second buffer against Pierre Gasly, ultimately costing him a podium finish.

Carlos Sainz finished in P5 in a challenging week for Ferrari. Lewis Hamilton crossed the line in P6, while George Russell, who had been battling with Lando Norris, lost P7 due to front-wing damage and finished in P17. Lando Norris secured P7, followed by Alex Albon in P8, Oscar in P9, and Esteban Ocon in P10.

References

1. Image Credits: www.formula1.com
2. Thumbnail Image Credits: www.formula1.com

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