Written by Marcus Woodhouse, Edited by Vyas Ponnuri
The dust has settled on a tumultuous first half of the 2024 season, and we’re back and raring to go in Zandvoort to kick off the racing once again.
We’ve seen no end of drama on and off the track this season, so naturally our eyes will be glued to the action this weekend as we see what unfolds. We appreciate it’s been a tough four weeks without Formula 1, so here is all you need to know for the 2024 Dutch Grand Prix.
Last Race Recap
Cast your minds back to the end of July, and the talk around the paddock was of the Red Bull juggernaut stalling and whether McLaren could wrap their head around team orders and lay down a real challenge to the championship standings.
Cue a ten-place grid penalty for Max Verstappen following an engine change, as the door swung wide open for McLaren to close the gap on their competitors.
Despite the setback, Verstappen looked ominous in qualifying and set a time of 1:53.159 that his nearest rival Charles Leclerc could only get within six tenths of. Nonetheless, the Monegasque driver lined up on pole alongside the surprisingly well-performing Sergio Perez who was bidding to secure his Red Bull seat for next year.
Lewis Hamilton was next ahead of the two McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri respectively, who were left frustrated by their failure to capitalise on Verstappen’s misfortune, before George Russell and Carlos Sainz made up the top seven.
Verstappen was down in 11th, but he had achieved the highest grid spot possible so that his rivals would be nervously checking their mirrors right from the off.
Sunday rolled around and Leclerc led the field away at the lights, while Perez was immediately reeled in and passed by Hamilton. Norris kept with tradition and had a disastrous start, dipping a wheel into the gravel and losing places on the first lap. In contrast, Verstappen was slicing through the pack like butter, and was already up on the gearbox of the McLaren by Lap 2.
Leclerc was having a dream weekend up to this point, but reality hit hard as Hamilton eased past him on only Lap 3 to crush his lofty ambitions. Russell and Verstappen were the first of the frontrunners onto the hard tyres on Lap 10, before Hamilton, Perez, Piastri, and Leclerc soon followed.
Piastri was the next to overtake Perez on Lap 13, as Sainz led Norris on old tyres at the front until the Brit pitted three laps later to undercut his former teammate. Things were getting dicey for Sainz out on his own, taking a trip through the gravel and contemplating a one-stop strategy, before eventually coming into the pits on Lap 21 for the medium tyres.
With all the contenders on relatively fresh rubber, Hamilton led the race by a small margin to Leclerc with Piastri a little way down the road behind. Meanwhile it was Russell’s turn to get past Perez and take fourth position midway through the race. Norris and Verstappen were still inseparable in sixth and seventh respectively, as the Dutchman looked for a way past.
Leclerc made a strategic pitstop on Lap 26 to try to undercut Hamilton, but a slow stop put a stop to that idea and Hamilton followed him in the lap after to keep them in formation in sixth and seventh. Piastri relished the clean air and pumped in a fastest lap of the race, before Verstappen and Sainz made their second stops of the day on Lap 29.
Norris was in for fresh hard tyres only a lap later, but Red Bull had timed their pitstop to perfection and the McLaren driver was now stuck between Verstappen and Sainz. Piastri pitted too on Lap 31 with a tardy 4.4s pitstop due to overshooting his pit box, and he emerged in fourth while Russell continued to lead the Grand Prix on his worn hard tyres.
The one-stop was becoming more and more enticing for the Mercedes driver, who had his seven-time world championship winning teammate chasing him down from only six seconds back. Hamilton was nervous about his chances on the radio, while Piastri hunted down and swept impressively past Leclerc for P3.
Only a few laps remained of the Belgian Grand Prix and Hamilton had cruised up to the back of his Mercedes teammate, as the team urged their drivers to keep it clean. Leclerc was under pressure from Verstappen and Norris, while Perez continued his slump down to eighth as Sainz made his way past this time.
All eyes were on the battle at the front however, as Hamilton got ever so close to Russell and their battle was slowing them both down to the point that Piastri came into the picture. Alas, no move could be made before the chequered flag and Russell led home Hamilton for what seemed like a miraculous Mercedes 1-2 finish.
The drama was far from over though as Russell suffered post-race disqualification after his car was found to be marginally underweight, and Formula 1 was left to rue the tragic end of one of the greatest drives of Formula 1’s modern era.
This promoted Hamilton to a second race victory of the season, with Piastri and Leclerc making up the podium.
Verstappen was able to fend off Norris to take a hard-fought P4, while Norris couldn’t achieve his objective of capitalising on Verstappen’s low start position and ended up losing ground in the championship heading into the summer break.
Sainz finished ahead of Perez in a fairly miserable race for the Mexican, but his qualifying performance was seemingly enough to secure him a seat for 2025 and dispel the constant swirl of rumours surrounding his future.
Fernando Alonso, Esteban Ocon, and Daniel Ricciardo earned points for their respective teams, with the Australian missing out on an early way back into the Red Bull team and now needing to even make sure of a drive at all for next season. Zhou Guanyu suffered mechanical failure early on and was the only retiree from the Belgian Grand Prix.
Circuit Guide
The Circuit Zandvoort is a fast-flowing festival of Formula 1, and more specifically Max Verstappen mania. The orange-clad grandstands are always a sight to behold, as much as can be seen in the midst of the orange smoke clouds rising into the heavens.
For the racing though, it’s a short run from the line down to the tight hairpin of Turn 1, before the drivers cautiously put the power down into Turn 2 before gently lifting off to keep all four wheels on the track.
Turn 3 sees the first proper banked corner come into play, as the drivers ease right round the outside to give themselves a boost into the next section.
Three fast and furious turns follow in quick succession, giving the drivers a hard task of following a car closely through there, before a slight lift-off as they swing round Turn 7 still at a rate of knots.
As the adrenaline pumps through their veins, they have to calmly apply the brakes to hit the apex at Turn 8 before everything slows down around the stop-start Turns 9 and 10.
The first DRS (Drag Reduction System) zone comes in the fairly brief and not-so-straight run down to Turn 11, where the drivers have to handle a quick right-left of Turns 11 and 12.
Turn 13 is a pretty standard right-hander leading into the magnificently long banked corner of Turn 14, in which DRS can once again be enabled leading into the start-finish straight.
Major Talking Points
Can McLaren solidify their title charge? - All the talk before the Belgian Grand Prix was of their team orders debacle in Hungary and how they need to manage their drivers more effectively in order to mount a proper title charge. However, a less impressive result for McLaren in Belgium means that the Woking-based outfit were in dire need of a regroup and should hopefully be ready now for a renewed assault on Red Bull’s position in the standings.
Will Mercedes build on recent strong results? - Not many at Mercedes were anticipating a standout season in 2024 and the news of Hamilton’s departure only made matters worse. But now, with three victories this year for the team and the 79-point gap to Ferrari in the Constructors Standings is no longer looking insurmountable if they can kick on at the Dutch Grand Prix and in the second half of the season.
Can Ricciardo prove his worth at RB? - The news of Red Bull’s show of faith in Sergio Perez means Ricciardo remains stuck at the junior team for the remainder of the season, and his future is far from certain, with Liam Lawson waiting patiently in the wings for his chance to show the world what he can do. So, Ricciardo desperately needs a strong showing at the Dutch Grand Prix to build some momentum, and make something out of the rest of his Formula One career.
Will Sainz impress with a 2025 seat secured? - James Vowles’ capture of the highly regarded Spaniard has gone down well at Williams, but with a drive already in the bag for 2025, it remains imperative for Sainz to keep his head down and perform in his last races for Ferrari, so that he can hit the ground running at his new team next year, and bring some excitement with him.
Can Red Bull stop their season spiralling? - Discontent amongst the Red Bull hierarchy has never been so rife, as Jonathan Wheatley is the latest to jump ship with his move to eventually become the Audi team principal, and performance on the track is not at the heights of recent seasons. In order to secure both championships for at least one more year they need a strong showing at Verstappen’s home race to give them a much-needed push.
Weather Forecast
Light rain is likely to feature throughout Friday practice, while showers are forecast on Saturday as well. Sunday could be sunny at times and rain is less likely but not improbable. Temperatures are moderate and relatively stable over the weekend.
Weekend Schedule (in BST)
Practice 1 - Friday, 11:30
Practice 2 - Friday, 15:00
Practice 3 - Saturday, 10:30
Qualifying - Saturday, 14:00
Race - Sunday, 14:00
Broadcast Information
Region | Channel |
Africa | SuperSport |
Albania | Euronews Albania |
Armenia | FastSports |
Australia | Fox SportsFoxtelKayo |
Austria | Servus TVORF |
Azerbaijan | AzTVIdman Azerbaijan |
Belgium | RTBF Play Sports |
Bosnia | Sport Klub |
Brazil | TV BandeirantesBandsports |
Bulgaria | Nova Diema Sport |
Cambodia | beIN SPORTS |
Canada | RDS RDS 2 TSN Noovo |
Caribbean | Rush Sports |
China | CCTV Shanghai TV Guangdong Television Channel Tencent |
Chinese Taipei | Videoland ELTA |
Croatia | Sport Klub |
Cyprus | Cytavision |
Czech Republic & Slovakia | Nova |
Denmark | TV3 Viaplay |
Estonia | Viaplay Go3 Estonia |
Eurasia | Setanta Sports |
Finland | Viaplay V Sport 1 |
France | Canal+ |
Germany | Sky Deutschland |
Greece | ANT1 ANT1+ |
Hong Kong | beIN SPORTS Now Sports 1 & 2 |
Hungary | M4 (MTVA Sports Channel) |
Iceland | Viaplay |
India | FanCode/F1 TV |
Indonesia | beIN SPORTS |
In-ship & In-flight | Sport 24 Sport 24 Extra |
Israel | Sport 5 |
Italy | Sky Italia |
Japan | Fuji TV DAZN |
Kosovo | Sport Klub Artmotion Kosovo |
Laos | beIN SPORTS |
Latin America | ESPN |
Latvia | Viaplay GO3 Latvia |
Lithuania | Viaplay GO3 Lithuania |
Luxembourg | RTL Télé Lëtzebuerg |
Macedonia | Sport Klub |
Malaysia & Brunei | beIN SPORTS |
Malta | Go Sports |
Mexico | Fox Sports Mexico |
Montenegro | SportKlub |
Myanmar | Canal+ Sports Canal+ ACTION |
Netherlands | Viaplay |
New Zealand | Sky NZ |
Norway | V sport 1 Viaplay |
Papua New Guinea & Pacific Islands | TVWAN Sports |
Philippines | beIN SPORTS |
Poland | Viaplay |
Portugal | Sport TV |
Romania | Antena |
Serbia | SportKlub |
Singapore | beIN SPORTS |
Slovenia | SportKlub |
South Korea | Coupang Play |
Spain & Andorra | DAZN |
Sweden | Viaplay V sport motor TV10 |
Switzerland | SRF RSI RTS |
Thailand | beIN Sports |
Turkey | beIN Sports |
Ukraine | Setanta Ukraine |
United Kingdom | Sky Sports Channel 4 |
USA | ESPN ESPN Deportes |
Vietnam | K+ |
Opmerkingen