All info you need to see before the next Dutch GP starts

The Dutch Grand Prix is back in the Formula 1 World Championship calendar and its 2021 edition will be the 13th race of the championship. The race, a home Grand Prix for championship contender Max Verstappen (Red Bull) is expected to have a thrilling atmosphere in favor of the Dutchman.

A new track is always an exciting feature to have in the Formula 1 calendar, and with the new Zandvoort having some interesting particularities, the weekend will certainly give fans impressive images of the current cars in the new circuit.

Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), continues to lead the World Drivers’ Championship ahead of Verstappen, but the Red Bull racer gained five points after last week’s Belgian Grand Prix, which awarded half points after a weird Sunday marked by rain and a non-race.

Hamilton has 202.5 points to his name, while the Dutchman follows closely with 199.5. Hamilton has won four races in 2021, but Verstappen leads the drivers’ table of wins with six, including last weekend’s outing at Spa-Francorchamps.

Mercedes’ lead in the World Constructors' Championship was also reduced, with Red Bull now seven points behind the German brand. Behind the two championship contenders, Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas and Red Bull’s Sergio Pérez will be eager to put up a good performance and get out of their particular streaks of races without points (two for Bottas and three for the Mexican). Bottas, especially, might be under pressure with George Russell’s possible arrival for Mercedes in 2022 looming over him.

McLaren (Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo) and Ferrari (Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc) should be closely matched at Zandvoort, and their fight for third place in the World Constructors’ Championship will continue. There have been some swings in the McLaren-Ferrari fight, and both teams will be eager to perform well at the new track. Currently, McLaren has 169 points, against Ferrari’s 165.5, and their particular battle could get intense in the second half of the campaign.

Alpine (Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso) and AlphaTauri (Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda) also have a close fight for P5 in the WCC. The French squad, which has one win this season, leads the Italian team 80 to 72.

The rest of the field has Aston Martin (Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll) in seventh in the WCC, coming off a P5 finish for Vettel and five points on the board at Belgium. Williams (George Russell and Nicholas Latifi) was one of the most favored teams by the disaster seen in Belgium, with half points being awarded for the ‘race’ and again their two cars being in the Top 10. Russel finished P2 after qualifying in that spot in the rain, and Latifi finished 10th, giving the team 10 points for the season and a healthy lead over Alfa Romeo (Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi) and Haas (Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin).

Alfa Romeo has three points in the season, but the big news for this weekend came in the form of Raikkonen announcing his retirement at the end of the campaign. The 2007 World Champion will leave F1 after 19 seasons since 2001 (he took a break from the pinnacle of motorsport during the 2010 and 2011 seasons) and 21 wins (so far).

2021 Dutch GP Facts & Figures

The Dutch Grand Prix returns to Formula 1 for the first time since 1985, and Sunday’s race will be the 33rd edition of the GP, and the 31st that has been a part of the Formula 1 World Championship (only the first two races at the Netherlands were non-championship races).

The event has seen some historic 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 an unfortunate crash. Roger Williamson, a British driver for March crashed and could not escape his burning car, ultimately dying from asphyxiation. David Purley, who was 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 overalls that were fire-retardant, proving the organization of the race was a bad one.

The most successful driver in the Dutch Grand Prix is Jim Clark. The legendary, two-time F1 champion won four the Dutch Grand Prix four times between 1963 and 1967 with Lotus. 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.

Upgraded Circuit Zandvoort

Zandvoort has held every Dutch Grand Prix to date, and the revamped circuit could definitely provide some big challenges to the current era of cars and for the drivers. Some racers of the current grid have competed at Zandvoort, but not in the current configuration of the track.

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 33rd Dutch Grand Prix celebrated at Circuit Zandvoort and the 31st that has been a part of the World Championship.

The track might have several unknowns for the current drivers and it will definitely make the weekend an interesting one. High downforce could be 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 will be an amazing one with the current Formula 1 taking the banked final corner at high speeds. The banking on the final corner is at 18 degrees and it was initially thought 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 will receive the pinnacle of motorsport in 2021.

The current layout is 4.259-km long and the 2021 Dutch Grand Prix will have 72 laps. The race distance will be 306.648 km if the full race is completed.

2021 Dutch Grand Prix - Tyres

The dry tyres for the 2021 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.

The C1, C2 and C3 used for the Zandvoort track in The Netherlands.

Pirelli explained their choice with a simple statement in a press release: “The return of the Dutch Grand Prix was initially scheduled for 2020 but postponed to this year as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. With some high-energy corners and no relevant previous data to fall back on, the hardest tyres are the most suitable choice.”

The minimum starting pressures for the tyres will be 22.0 PSI (front) and 21.5 PSI (rear).

Pirelli’s head of F1 and car racing, Mario Isola, also offered his thoughts about the upcoming weekend and the tyres for the race: “The Dutch Grand Prix is obviously a new challenge but thanks to the data provided by Formula 1 and the teams, we have been able to come up with a tyre nomination and prescriptions that are closely aligned to what we can expect from this exciting new venue. Being a new track, the free practice sessions will also be essential when it comes to gathering real data and formulating the tyre strategy for the race. What's for sure is that the circuit layout is going to place heavy demands on the tyres, as can be seen from the computer simulations that we have already carried out. We’ve already raced at Zandvoort in the GT World Challenge this year, and this too has provided us with some useful information.”

2021 Dutch Grand Prix Weather Forecast

Friday, Sep 3rd - FP1 & FP2
Conditions: Turning cloudy
Max. temperature: 18°C
Chance of rain: 0%

Saturday, Sep 4th - FP3 & Qualifying
Conditions: Clouds and sun
Max. temperature: 18°C
Chance of rain: 2%

Sunday, Sep 5th - Race
Conditions: Clouds and sun
Max. temperature: 21°C
Chance of rain: 2%

Who will be on the 2021 Dutch Grand Prix Podium?

With Formula 1 returning to Zandvoort for the first time since 1985, it is naturally difficult to make predictions. Moreover, last weekend might have proven that Red Bull returned strong for the second half of the season, and nothing would be better for Max Verstappen than dominating his home Grand Prix.

Zandvoort, Holland, 24th - 26th August 1979, RD12.
Alan Jones, Williams FW07-Ford, lifts his winners trophy on the podium as fellow competitors Jody Scheckter and Jaques Laffite look on. Portrait. Podium.
Photo: LAT Photographic/Williams F1. Ref: 1979williams02

An interesting fact of the Dutch Grand Prix is that the last seven winners of the race have not won the World Drivers’ Championship of that season. 

Red Bull and Mercedes might still be closely matched, and a win from the Mercedes brand could be a huge upset for Verstappen and Red Bull. Moreover, both teams’ “number two” drivers, Pérez and Bottas, desperately need to step up and at least provide strategic help to their teammates.

Behind the elite teams, it will be interesting to see McLaren and Ferrari, with the Woking-based team coming off missing a possible Pole Position in the Spa rain, and Ferrari looking to take advantage of the twisty sections of the Circuit Zandvoort.

The weather might give Formula 1 fans a break this weekend, with all pointing towards a dry race and nice conditions for a ‘normal’ race day. In normal situations, Red Bull and Mercedes should be clear of the rest, at least with the two championship-contending drivers, and a massive battle for the win between the home hero and the reigning champion could definitely be in the cards.

The prediction for the top three of the 2021 Dutch Grand Prix is 1. Max Verstappen, 2. Lewis Hamilton, 3. Sergio Pérez.

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