The Summer Break is finally over. The stars of Formula 1 return to the track for the highly banked Dutch Grand Prix. The native Dutchman Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen has defended his home turf valiantly since Formula 1 returned to the Netherlands. Verstappen has won every single Dutch Grand Prix since its return in 2021. This year he may not be coming in with the fastest car unlike in years past. This will be the toughest trip to Zandvoort yet.
Red Bull Struggles
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The Red Bulls have been steadily declining since Miami but have glared for the last few months with McLaren and Mercedes leading the way. Verstappen is in the midst of his longest winless streak since 2020 at 4 races and a return home may be exactly what the doctor ordered to snap the streak. If Red Bull fails to to get Verstappen on the podium the rumors of him leaving Red Bull are only going to intensify.
On the other side of the garage Sergio (Checo) Perez has been struggling much more than the talented Verstappen. He finally established consistency scoring points in four of the last five races but only finishing at highest seventh in that span. It was enough however for Red Bull to give him the nod to finish the year in the second Red Bull seat. Checo has had a strong history for the next three races and may be set for a resurgence in the second half of the year.
Can Mercedes Keep It Going
Mercedes has been rolling strong since the Canadian Grand Prix. Since Mercedes brought the flexible front wing Mercedes has passed McLaren in pace. The Silver Arrows have won three of the last four Grand Prix and would have been a one, two-finish in Belgium had George Russell not been disqualified. Lewis Hamilton comes in on a huge wave of momentum, being the first driver not in a Red Bull to win multiple races in a season since 2022.
McLaren has had a stint of being the fastest car for several race weekends and is still well within the margin of Mercedes. McLaren has had an incredible ability to mess things up, especially with the strategy, and in Zandvoort that will play a major role. McLaren even in victory and a one-two finish failed to escape strategic controversy. Can McLaren get out of their way and get back on the podium’s top step?
The Strategy
Zandvoort is a 4.25-kilometer (2.64-mile) circuit consisting of 14 turns with turn 3 being the most banked corner in the F1 calendar with 72 laps on the schedule. Assuming Pirelli has the same tires as last year they will use the C1 (Hard) C2 (Medium) and C3 (Soft) because of the banking in turn 3 Formula 1 has to use the hardest compound set.
The pit strategies vary from multiple 2 stops and a one-stopper. The first is a stopper starting on the medium tires with the pit window being lap 30-36 and switching to the hard tires to close out the race. The best two-stop strategy is starting on the soft compound tires with the first window coming laps 20-25 switching to the medium and the second stop coming on laps 48-54 and finishing the race on the softs.
Time and Channel of the Dutch Grand Prix
As Formula 1 stays in Europe the Dutch Grand Prix will be on August 25th at 9:00 am Eastern time. The race will be on F1 TV and ESPN (in the United States). Can Max Verstappen and Red Bull get back to the top step or will the McLaren and Mercedes continue to tango for the top step? All questions will be answered in the beautiful country of the Netherlands.
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