Raceday Recap: Zooming in Zandvoort
The Zandvoort circuit is definitely a crowd favorite, and this year’s race was full of chaos for sure. As we tune back in after the summer break, let’s debrief Ferrari’s failure, Isack Hadjar’s first podium, and more!
After struggling to lead the field throughout all 3 practice sessions, Oscar Piastri took pole this weekend while also setting the fastest lap record for the circuit. Meanwhile, Lando Norris settled for a P2 start after taking 1st place in every practice, with Dutch hometown favorite Max Verstappen starting behind him in 3rd. Isack Hadjar achieved his career best qualifying position and started on the second row alongside Verstappen, followed by George Russell in P5, Charles Leclerc in P6, and Lewis Hamilton in P7. Hadjar’s teammate Liam Lawson also put in a great qualifying time to start from 8th place on the grid, followed by Williams’ Carlos Sainz in 9th and Fernando Alonso completing the top ten. After a major crash in Free Practice 2, Lance Stroll’s engineers stayed up until 1 AM fixing his car, just for him to crash during the first lap of qualifying - needless to say, he started last on Sunday’s grid. Ollie Bearman also got off to a bad start, beginning the race from the pit lane after his car was modified under Parc Ferme conditions and additional power unit elements were used.
Piastri after taking pole position for the 5th time this season. Photo courtesy of The Guardian.
From the first lap, Piastri held the lead of the race, but Verstappen skirted wide into turn 1 to overtake Norris. Norris then took the place back on lap 9. On lap 23, Lewis Hamilton spun out of turn 3 and destroyed the right half of his car and was unable to keep racing. On lap 27, Lawson and Sainz made contact, with Sainz receiving a 10 second penalty. On lap 32, Leclerc and Russell rammed into each other and were wheel to wheel for 2 whole turns, but Leclerc pushed through and gained the position over Russell. On lap 53, Leclerc was coming out of the pit lane on fresh soft tires when Antonelli pushed him high and left him little room to keep going. Leclerc spun into the barriers (at the same turn as Hamilton) and then back onto the track - not a good day for Ferrari fans. In the middle of lap 65, 7 laps before the end of the race, Norris smelled smoke from the cockpit and had to retire from the race due to engine issues. At a time when he needs the points most for the championship, Lando fans are heartbroken that he lost out due to a mechanical issue that was out of his control.
Oscar Piastri drove a solid race and took his 7th win of the season, with Verstappen settling for P2 behind him. Isack Hadjar was the star of the show this weekend, as the rookie scored a podium after only 15 races! Russell brought back a decent P4 for Mercedes as Alex Albon’s P5 brought much hope and celebration to WIlliams. Ollie Bearman came home in P6, accompanied by Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll in P7 and Fernando Alonso in P8 - a strong result for the midfield team. Yuki Tsunoda took 9th place and earned his first ever points for Red Bull, and Esteban Ocon took the last point in P10. ‘Twas a bittersweet race for McLaren supporters, and a heartbreaking race for Ferrari, Sauber, and Alpine fans alike. Next week, however, we race in Monza (!!!) so hopefully each team will be more excited for the future than they are downcast about the present.
A grinning Hadjar on his first-ever F1 podium: Félicitations, Isack! Photo courtesy of Motorsport.com.
The overtakes were well-executed, the DNF’s were dramatic, and overall this race weekend in the Netherlands will be one to remember. Even though it hurt me to watch Lando and Charles lose their race due to forces out of their control, the silly footage of them looking dejected on the sand dunes did cheer me up a bit. Let’s hope that next weekend in Monza is more positive - as always, thank you for reading.
Lights out and away we go,
Lucy xx
