Zandvoort is looking forward to ‘Super Exciting Sunday’
The Formula 1 Heineken Dutch Grand Prix has been the biggest racing party in the Netherlands for three years now, but tomorrow there is one thing that is different from all previous editions. Max Verstappen will not start on pole position in his own GP for the first time. He will start on the first starting row. Next to friend and rival Lando Norris.
However the race ends from 15:00, the 100,000 race fans are assured of a ‘Super Exciting Sunday’ after Super Friday and Qualifying Saturday. After a wet final free practice, which lasted only fifteen minutes due to a heavy crash of the fortunately unharmed Logan Sargeant, Qualifying certainly did not disappoint. The fans were on the edge of their seats for the full 45 minutes. Figuratively speaking, because the party in the stands was of course celebrated standing and dancing. Today, despite the rain, almost 100,000 fans had come to Zandvoort again.
Small differences
In today’s qualifying the differences were already very small. So small that drivers like Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) and Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) did not even qualify for Q3 due to a slip.
The McLarens seemed to be ‘in control’, while Max Verstappen gave everything to stay in their wake. Lando Norris impressed in Q3 with the fastest time; a considerable amount faster than the home favorite. “I didn’t feel like I could get involved in the battle for pole position in Q1 and Q2,” said the three-time winner in Zandvoort afterwards. “But luckily I’ll be on the front row tomorrow. I can be quite happy with that.”
Attack
A dry race is expected tomorrow and Verstappen has exactly 265 meters to go after the start, before he has to turn in for the Tarzan corner. The question is whether he has already made his first attack. Norris has been warned. He is full of confidence, but knows Verstappen all too well. “The car was good and I was good. It is not an easy circuit and certainly not with that wind. I feel very comfortable this weekend. The gap to Max surprised me, but that does not mean that I will have it under control tomorrow.”
Strategy
Verstappen certainly does not accept Lando’s triumph in advance. “But I don’t feel completely comfortable in the car. The balance is not right yet and I lost some time somewhere in every lap. Maybe I want to hold on to something that is no longer there,” Verstappen does not close his eyes to the new reality.
Verstappen will have a McLaren in front of him and behind him at the start tomorrow. Oscar Piastri is going for his own chances, he made clear. “I am curious about Red Bull’s strategy, that could certainly be interesting. There are no agreements between me and Lando. We are allowed to race against each other. That is not an issue.”
There is one rule, Norris added. “We are not allowed to run each other off the road.”
F1 Academy
After the dry Formula 1 qualifying, the weather changed in Zandvoort today. As a result, the planned first race of the F1 Academy, the women’s class of Formula 1, could not take place. The sixteen drivers, including compatriots Maya Weug, Emely de Heus and debutante Nina Gademan, will now drive two races tomorrow. The first race is scheduled for 8:30. The rest of the program remains unchanged.
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