A month has passed since the last Formula 1 race. The host track was that of Spa-Francorchamps, in which he triumphed Lewis Hamilton after disqualification of George Russell. After the summer break, the top motorsport category resumes its tour around the world. The next circuit on the calendar is that of Zandvoortin Netherlands. So let's go and discover the route.
Zandvoort, home circuit and full of victories for Max Verstappen
The Zandvoort circuit is a permanent track built near the town of the same name. Long 4259 meters, Presents 14 curves. 2 the areas DRS, one on the main straight and one between 10 and 11. It has hosted F1 since 1952 up to 1985, to then fall into ruin and become a small track of 2526 meters. In 2018, with the announcement of a Dutch Grand Prix by 2020, renovation work began. Due to the pandemic, the inaugural run is postponed to 2021. To date, the Dutch stage is a permanent fixture on the Formula 1 calendar. In the restructuring 6 years ago, two elevated curves, or curve 3 e curve 14. The first with a slope of 19° and the second of 18°.
The roll of honor since the reintroduction of the Zandvoort circuit into an F1 season sees a Max Verstappen's dominance, home pilot. 3 wins out of 3 in Holland, and if he wins this weekend he could grab it Jim Clark with 4 successes. For the reigning world champion too 3nd pole position, at the top of the ranking together with Rene Arnoux. The absolute record also belongs to the Dutchman, in 1'08 "885 (2021). The official one, however, is Lewis Hamiltonin 1'11 "097 (2021)
Harder compounds, watch out for the weather conditions
Obviously, predicting the weather conditions this weekend is impossible. However, we can base ourselves on what we saw over the weekend Belgium. During that weekend, the weather changed from day to day, if not even hour to hour. This means that, moving forward into autumn, we can expect anything. In case of sunny days, watch out for the thermal degradation. At Zandvoort, this is accentuated by the banked corners present on the circuit. The slope, in fact, generates greater pressure on the tyres. Also for this reason, the FIA has decided to have pilots use the harder compounds among those designated (C1, C2 and C3).
Another factor to take into consideration will certainly be the wind. The track is located near the sea, so the gusts carry a lot of it onto the road surface sand. This is harmful to the tires, because in addition to making them dirty does not allow you to generate maximum grip.
Speaking of set-up, the teams will have to find the right solution Don't lose too many load points, but at the same time being efficient on the straight. For this reason, we will see racing teams adopt wings from medium load.
Mercedes wants to surprise, McLaren and Max to return to winning ways
At the beginning of the season, no one expected to experience a year like this thrilling. And of course, with everyone so close, it's almost impossible to make predictions. Given the progress of the last few races, they are 4 the teams that will compete for victory: Red Bull, McLaren, Mercedes e Ferrari. Even at Fanta F1, the best choice would be to take two drivers from these teams. However, they will be needed free tests to understand what the forces will be on the field and who will be the favorites to win the Dutch GP.
