Everything you need to know about the coming 2023 Dutch Grand Prix

The 2023 Dutch Grand Prix will be the 13th round of the lopsided 2023 Formula 1 World Championship. The event will be celebrated on the upcoming Sunday at Circuit Zandvoort and Red Bull will be looking for its 14th consecutive win to extend its F1 record, and Max Verstappen looking to tie Sebastian Vettel with a ninth straight victory, an all-time record.

Third consecutive home victory?

Verstappen is also looking for a third victory in his home Grand Prix, something achieved only by six drivers in F1 history. Moreover, the Dutchman could win his third Dutch Grand Prix in a row, which would equal Jim Clark's streak in the country from 1963 to 1965 as the best winning streak in the Dutch event.

Red Bull has obliterated the F1 field in the first half of 2023 and the trend should continue in the second half. With 12 wins in 12 races, the team is clearly in front in the World Constructors Championship with 503 points, ahead of Mercedes (247 points with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell), Aston Martin (196 points with Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll), and Ferrari (191 with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz).

Verstappen has won 10 of the first 12 races in 2023 and has 314 points in the World Drivers' Championship, clearly ahead of his teammate Sergio Pérez (189 points and two wins). There's a big battle for third in the WDC between two old rivals, with Alonso leading Hamilton by just one point so far (149 to 148).

Charles Leclerc is fifth for Ferrari with 99 points, tied with George Russell, and seven points ahead of the other Ferrari driver, Carlos Sainz.

Lando Norris has taken advantage of McLaren's improvements lately and is eighth in the WDC with 69 points and two podiums in the last three events. Ninth is Lance Stroll for Aston Martin, 12 points ahead of Esteban Ocon's Alpine (35 points).

2023 Dutch GP Facts & Figures

The Dutch Grand Prix will be on the Formula 1 calendar for the third time since 1985, after returning in 2021.

Sunday’s race will be the 35th edition of the GP, and the 33rd that has been a part of the Formula 1 World Championship (only the first two races in the Netherlands were non-championship races).

The event has seen historical moments, such as James Hunt taking his first Grand Prix win for Hesketh in 1975 and Niki Lauda winning his 25th and final Grand Prix in 1985 for McLaren.

Tragic situations also showed up in the Dutch Grand Prix, with two-time podium finisher Piers Courage losing his life in the 1970 race after a sad crash. Roger Williamson, a British driver for March, crashed and could not escape his burning car, ultimately dying from asphyxiation in the 1973 event. David Purley, driving another March, pulled up and got out of his car to try and move Williamson’s car, which was upside-down, but all attempts were not enough.

The marshals did not do a good job, but they really could not try much, as they did not have fire-retardant overalls, proving the organization of the race was far from ideal.

The most successful driver in the Dutch Grand Prix is Jim Clark. The legendary two-time F1 champion won the Dutch Grand Prix four times between 1963 and 1967 with Lotus. Sir Jackie Stewart and Niki Lauda follow Clark in the list, with three wins apiece, while every other driver who has won more than once at the Netherlands was a World Champion.

In terms of team wins, Ferrari leads Lotus with eight victories to six. McLaren is third with three wins, while Mercedes and Williams have one win each at Zandvoort. Mercedes won with Juan Manuel Fangio in 1955, while Williams did so with Alan Jones in 1979.

Dutch driver Max Verstappen has won the last two editions of the event from Pole Position.

Circuit Zandvoort Track Info

Zandvoort has held every Dutch Grand Prix to date, and the revamped circuit is definitely a challenging one. Although the circuit has a twisty layout, we've seen some thrilling battles in the last two events.

The original Zandvoort was designed by Jarno Zaffelli and the track was opened in 1948.

It hosted the Dutch Grand Prix from 1950 to 1985, with the exception of four events that were not celebrated due to financial issues or safety concerns.

This year’s race will be the 35th Dutch Grand Prix celebrated at Circuit Zandvoort and the 33rd that has been a part of the Formula 1 World Championship.

High downforce is highly necessary at the circuit due to its 14 turns, but the balance will again be key to have enough speed throughout the main straight and its 678 meters.

The final section of the circuit is an amazing one, as seeing Formula 1 cars taking the banked final corner at high speeds is truly unique. The banking on the final corner is at 18 degrees and it was initially thought of as a part of the second DRS zone (main straight), but the FIA and the organizers decided against it.

The track was scheduled to make a return to F1 in 2020, with the event expected to be held in May. However, the Covid-19 pandemic changed the situation and Zandvoort made its return in 2021 with a successful event and also ran a good weekend in 2022.

The current layout is 4.259-km long and the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix will have 72 laps. The race distance will be 306.587 km if the full race is completed.

The current lap record was set in 2021, with Sir Lewis Hamilton putting up a 1:11.097 min lap in the race.

2023 Dutch Grand Prix - Tyres

The dry tyres for the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix will be the C1 as P Zero White hard, C2 as P Zero Yellow Medium, and C3 as P Zero Red soft.

Pirelli explained their choice with a statement from the brand's Motorsport Director, Mario Isola: "The second half of the season gets underway with a unique race. The Dutch Grand Prix takes place in Zandvoort: one of the most traditionally demanding tracks on the calendar that returned to the Formula 1 schedule three years ago on the wave of all the local support for Max Verstappen, who repaid his fans amply with a pair of victories from the last two races.

It’s a very twisty track with two banked corners – Turn 3 and Turn 14 – that are steeper than Indianapolis, by way of comparison. On corners like this the stress on the tyres is greater than it would be through normal corners, as the vertical forces increase with the much higher speeds due to the banking. We’ve brought the same tyres as 2022, at least as far as the names are concerned: C1, C2, and C3.

However, the current C1 is actually a new compound for this year, positioned between the C2 and the previous C1, which is now called the C0. Last year, in a race that was characterised by two neutralisations, no fewer than 14 drivers – including the top three – used all three compounds, underlining the wide variety of options available to the strategists on the pit wall.”

The minimum starting pressures for the tyres will be 24.0 PSI (front) and 21.0 PSI (rear).

2023 Dutch Grand Prix Weather Forecast

Friday, Aug 25th - FP1 & FP2
Conditions: Cloudy with a shower
Max. temperature: 19°C
Chance of rain: 67%

Saturday, Aug 26th - FP3 & Qualifying
Conditions: Partly sunny with a couple of showers
Max. temperature: 18°C
Chance of rain: 90%

Sunday, Aug 27th - Race
Conditions: Mostly cloudy
Max. temperature: 18°C
Chance of rain: 77%

Who will be on the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix Podium?

2023 Dutch F1 GP podium: 1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull), 2. George Russell (Mercedes) & 3. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)

It is more than likely that Red Bull will continue its dominant run in the upcoming race, unless some unfortunate mistakes or reliability issues occur to the cars. Verstappen is the clear favorite to win the event for the third consecutive season and it would be quite a party for the Dutch fans at their home Grand Prix.

The Dutchman is favored by oddsmakers to win the event on Sunday, with his teammate Sergio Pérez having the second-best odds, followed by Lewis Hamilton and a surprising Lando Norris.

Mercedes competed against Red Bull for the victory at Zandvoort in the last two races, with Hamilton fighting Verstappen for the win each time but failing to do so against the best machine in Formula 1.

This season, Red Bull's advantage at Zandvoort might be even bigger against its rivals and Verstappen having a cruise to victory could definitely be the safest option to take if you're going to predict a result for the upcoming event.

The prediction for the top three of the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix is 1. Max Verstappen, 2. Sergio Pérez, 3. Lando Norris.

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