Formula One Vault

PRIXVIEW – Dutch Grand Prix

Round fifteen sees the beginning of the late summer leg at Zandvoort for the Dutch Grand Prix, originally the Zandvoort Grand Prix between 1948 and 1951. The 2.6-mile circuit returned to the calendar thanks to the success of Max Verstappen, the circuit built in the post-war era retains much of the characteristics of the original circuit though the town first held a Grand Prix in the 1930s.

The origins of the modern circuit began during the Nazi occupation when the mayor convinced the local administration to construct a straight road through the dunes down which the Germans could hold impressive parades once victory had been achieved. Soon after the war the circuit was built using existing roads before moving to the purpose-built circuit in 1948 before becoming a world championship round in 1952.

From its earliest days and since its return to the calendar, Zandvoort has been a hugely popular circuit with drivers and fans, it’s a medium-speed flowing circuit similar to Suzuka. But that shouldn’t be a surprise because the two circuits were designed originally partly by the Dutch journalist turned-designer John Hugenholtz. His son was the designer for the basis of the modern circuit which was built in 2019.

Although often credited with designing the Zandvoort circuit as well, the layout was largely dictated by the existing road layout, with Sammy Davis acting as the principal design consultant. The first sector largely follows the original layout before the newer section first built in the 1980s after F1 left the circuit.

Zandvoort is very similar in characteristics to Suzuka, a tight twisty circuit through the dunes. Tarzan the first corner was reprofiled for the sport’s return with banking, it provides drivers with several different lines. But it has other banked corners Gerlanch and the almost bowl-shaped hairpin Hugenholtz as well as Turn Twelve.

Throughout its history, Zandvoort has been a popular circuit with drivers, as it’s an old circuit meaning the risk versus reward is higher because of the fast sweeping corners. But it’s also a circuit where you need a bit of straight-line speed for the final sector and main straight, making it a circuit of conflicting demands. The circuit is also is one where drivers need to be careful, as it has retained much of the grass and gravel which means mistakes can be more costly.

The new circuit was first built in the 1980s but the basis for the new Grand Prix circuit wouldn’t come until 2001. This was designed by the company owned by John Hugenholtz jr, creating the basis for the modern Grand Prix circuit which was built in 2018-2020.

For the first two years of the championship the race was a non-championship Grand Prix, using something similar to the Sprint format with Sprint Qualifying, The Sprint, Grand Prix Qualifying and Grand Prix. The first championship race saw Alberto Ascari take a grand slam and his seventh win in the sport as Ferrari took a clean sweep on the podium, lapping every other car. Ascari took victory in 1953.

1955 Mercedes continued the domination of the season, with Juan Manuel Fangio and Briton Stirling Moss dominating the proceedings; Moss followed Fangio closely all the way. Moss would win the following year and in 1958, while Jo Bonnier took his only win in 1959.

In the mid-sixties, the race was dominated by Jim Clark, with the Lotus 49 taking victory on debut in 1967. The DFV engine became hugely popular and is the most successful power unit in F1 history remaining in use for the next eighteen years.

The 1970s saw Zandvoort have many fatal accidents the Williams driver Piers Courage, when he crashed at Oost with a wheel, came off and hit him on the head. The car, with Courage still in it, then caught fire and burned to the ground. 1973 saw yet another driver killed, on lap eight when Roger Williamson crashed, ultimately killing him.

1970 race saw Jochen Rindt start a run of four wins in a row which despite his death at Monza and retirement at the Red Bull Ring, as it’s known now, which secured him the championship and made him the only driver to be posthumously wing the Drivers Championship. 1971 saw Jacky Ickx win a race-long battle with Pedro Rodriguez.

1972 saw the circuit redeveloped meaning there was no Grand Prix with barriers and a new pit lane built. The circuit redevelopment was celebrated with a special atmosphere, but disaster struck during the race Roger Williamson (in only his second-ever Formula One race) crashed heavily near Tunnel Oost and his car caught fire while scraping along the tarmac. Williamson was uninjured during the crash, but time was running out; he could not free himself from the car. Williamson’s countryman David Purley stopped alongside, crossed the track and ran over to the burning March. Purley tried in vain to turn the car upright.

There appeared to have been ample time to right the car and pull Williamson out, but as desperately as he tried, Purley was unable to do it by himself, and the marshals, who were not wearing flame retardant overalls, were unable and unwilling to help due to the intense heat. Race control assumed that it was Purley’s car that had crashed and that the driver had escaped unharmed. Purley was awarded the George Medal for his bravery by Queen Elizbeth II for his actions

Sir Jackie Stewart won that race to become the then most successful driver in the sport’s history taking a twenty-sixth career win by fifteen seconds ahead of Tyrrell teammate Francois Cevert.

1975 saw James Hunt win his first championship Formula One race in his Hesketh. Hunt would win again in 1976, as Lauda recovered from his crash at the Nürburgring. Hunt’s battle with Mario Andretti was a defining movement in the following year’s race, the Americans attempted an ambitious move to pass the Englishman at Tarzan, they touch taking them both out of the race.

1979 there was another series of accidents Gilles Villeneuve had crashed there while battling ferociously with Alan Jones and damaged his left-rear suspension. The damage to Jones wasn’t apparent straight away but was forced to retire at half distance.

The 1982 event was won by Frenchman Didier Pironi in a Ferrari; his countryman René Arnoux had a dreadful crash at the end of the pit straight going into Tarzan; his front suspension failed on his ground-effect Renault and he went head-on into the barriers; fortunately, he was uninjured

1983 saw a clash between Prost and title rival Nelson Piquet. Prost tried to pass Piquet at Tarzan but the Frenchman punted Piquet off and Prost crashed soon afterwards. 1985 saw Lauda take his 25th and final Grand Prix victory while holding off his charging McLaren teammate Prost near the end of the race.

The race returned thanks to the success of Max Verstappen in 2021, after the 2020 race was cancelled due to the pandemic. The Dutchman has won all three races, in 2021 taking his seventh win of the season ahead of Lewis Hamilton. He also beat Mercedes in 2022 after undercutting Hamilton and George Russell during a late safety car, when they had looked on course for their first win of the season.

However, Hamilton finished lost out to Verstappen and dropped to fourth, while Ferrari’s race also unravelled when they didn’t have the tyres ready for Carlos Sainz at his first stop, which also saw Leclerc lose out to Hamilton, with the Silver Arrows going for a one-stop race.

Race & Circuit Guide

Fast facts

• The first Grand Prix at the track was won by Prince Bira, pre-world championship, the only Thai driver to race in F1 until Alexander Albon made his debut at the 2019 Australian Grand Prix. Jim Clark holds the record for the most wins at the Dutch Grand Prix, having won at Zandvoort on four occasions – in 1963, 1964, 1965 and 1967.
• In the track’s first stint on the calendar, Carel Godin de Beaufort and Gijs van Lennep were the only Dutch drivers to have scored a point in their home race, after finishing sixth in 1962 and 1973 respectively.
• Max Verstappen gave the Netherlands their first home winner at the 2021 Dutch Grand Prix. The nation became the 12th to have a home winner in Formula 1. It was the first time a new country joined that particular list since Fernando Alonso won his home race for the first time at the 2006 Spanish Grand Prix.
• During its 33 F1 races so far, 56 different drivers have finished on the podium at Zandvoort. Max Verstappen is the only driver to record multiple podium finishes at the track since 2021.

Event timetable

What happened in 2023?

Max Verstappen beat Lando Norris by half a second to take his third consecutive pole at Zandvoort despite mixed conditions. The fight for pole came down to a one-lap dash after Charles Leclerc tried to fit an extra run in. The Ferrari driver crashed the car at Bocht Nine causing heavy damage to the side of the car and breaking the rear suspension which could have damaged the gearbox, thus gaining a five-place grid penalty.

Norris had knocked out Lewis Hamilton in Q2 showing how close it had been in. qualifying while his teammate Oscar Piastri had shown decent pace but the Australian couldn’t improve on his last run leaving him ninth.

Verstappen continued his record-breaking season taking his ninth win in a row equalling Sebastian Vettel as well as his third win in a row at Zandvoort, but it was one of the smallest winning margins in 2023. Fernando Alonso was second, the Aston Martin driver finishing two seconds behind Verstappen and set his own record for longest time between the first and latest podium dating back to Malaysia 2003. Alonso in the closing sprint couldn’t get close enough to stop Verstappen from claiming another home win at Zandvoort.

The Spaniard on the restart did try to get close in the closing stages, he was on his tail into Tarzan, but Verstappen held his nerve on the restart to build nearly a four-second lead in the final ten-lap sprint and take another win. He had managed to pass Perez when he went off in the closing stages as the conditions changed.

Pierre Gasly was third his first podium since Lusail in 2021, a much-needed boost for Alpine which has had a summer defined by dramas within its management. He even managed to make up for a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane to take his first podium of the season.

What to watch for?

Following the summer break there I think is one question, has Red Bull figured out a way to respond to the threats they have been under or has the chasing pack closed or maintained the gap at the same level?  I think it’s going to be the latter given how competitive the European season has been and Red Bull has been under more pressure. Max Verstappen has dominated this race since its return in 2021.

The Dutchman seeking his fourth win in a row, but I can’t recall any race which following its return or debut being won four times in a row by the same driver and Sergio Perez’s form which has been a big talking point before the breakthrough Red Bull has retained him and I’m not sure if his future is truly secure beyond 2024.

However, the run-in before the break has seen him under pressure more than we expected at the start of the season, but the big question is can they start a strong run of results or can McLaren continue to put the pressure on Red Bull. I think they appear to be the most consistent challengers in the first half of the season, both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have taken their maiden wins, I feel need to be smart to win this championship.

I wonder what they have decided and have in the pipeline to mount a serious challenge, Norris we have seen has the speed and consistency I believe but they need to use Piastri strategically. It will be interesting to see how they manage that, if they bring upgrades, we know over the last eighteen months that every upgrade they have worked which doesn’t always happen, has led to them becoming a real rival to Red Bull.

Ferrari has been using the break to try and resolve bouncing problem under control. Since Barcelona when the team introduced a new floor, through high-speed corners the team has battled with bouncing in corners, though they have a temporary fix the issue remains. This could be a major headache for Zandvoort because of the high-speed sweeping corners, if they haven’t it could be a difficult weekend for them if they haven’t figured out a solution.

In recent races that has opened opportunities for both Mercedes and McLaren to challenge and beat Red Bull, this would be a perfect statement if they were to beat Verstappen in his backyard. But the second quarter of the season has not been able to just sail to victory, that has allowed both Mercedes and Piastri to take wins.

Zandvoort is another old-school circuit meaning it is largely lined by grass and gravel, that as always means that mistakes can be costly as well as lead to red flags during qualifying and safety cars during the race. But it is a circuit where overtaking is possible but not without risks we saw a red flag during last year’s race, also this can be hard on tyres.

This also creates opportunities for the teams in the lower part of the midfield, I don’t feel we really have the traditional back markers as the grid is almost split between the top four and the rest, to score good points. Overtaking is more difficult at Zandvoort but not impossible given it’s an old circuit with grass and gravel.

2023 vs 2022 Race Data

2023 Lap time comparison

Tyres