Narrow Zandvoort welcomed the F1 circus for the second time in a row after the 35-year break, which had started in 1986. There was no doubt about the home crowd's favourite driver, as almost every part of the grandstands was covered in orange. After a dominant victory at Spa only a week earlier, Verstappen was to carry on the momentum to his home race.
Max Verstappen fans enjoy the atmosphere during the F1 Grand Prix of The Netherlands at Circuit Zandvoort on September 04, 2022 in Zandvoort, Netherlands. Photo by Mark Thompson.
Everything looked promising for the Red Team in the qualifying. Sainz in his SF75 went fastest in Q2, although Mercedes' Russell was only a hundredth of a second down on the Spaniard. Home hero Verstappen made one run only, which entitled him to P3, 0.113s down on Sainz. Leclerc was fourth, six hundredths off the championship leader. Margins were small, so Max's pole position could not be taken for granted.
In Q3 it seemed possible for all top three teams to claim pole. Charles took provisional pole but his arch rival Verstappen was only 0.059s off the Monegasque's pace. Hamilton made Mercedes seem surprisingly competitive, as the Briton went third fastest, being only 0.192s slower than Charles. Sainz was fourth, Perez fifth and Russell sixth.
Fans in the dunes during the F1 Grand Prix of the Netherlands on September 04, 2022 in Zandvoort, Netherlands. Photo by ANP via Getty Images.
The last two minutes of the final session were hair-raising. Charles banged the fastest lap time, but Verstappen managed to cut two hundredths of a second off Charles' benchmark, robbing the Ferrari ace of the top spot. Sainz went third fastest and Hamilton fourth. Perez, on the other hand, failed badly on his last run, losing control of his RB18. The Mexican's spin ruined the last attempt for both Mercedes drivers. Perez ended up in P5 in the final results, splitting the Silver Arrows. In terms of the midfield drivers, Haas' Schumacher stood out of the crowd by qualifying in splendid P8.
The three top teams were divided in terms of tyre strategy. Both Red Bulls and Ferraris were on softs, whilst both Mercedes drivers, McLaren's Norris and Haas' Schumacher opted for the medium rubber. As the lights went out, pole-setter Verstappen didn't give his rivals a slightest chance to challenge him for the lead.
Charles Leclerc at the 2022 Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort. Photo by Ferrari.
Charles maintained his second place and was followed closely by his teammate Carlos. Hamilton showed excellent race pace on the medium Pirellis and was able to match the Ferrari duo's pace.
Carlos Sainz at the 2022 Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort. Photo by Ferrari.
The first top drivers to pit were Sainz and Perez on lap 15. But what a disaster the Spaniard's pit stop turned out. The pit stop crew had no rear-left tyre ready for Carlos, and the pit stop took 12 long-lasting seconds! In addition to this costly mistake, one of the Ferrari crew members threw the nut gun on the ground, and Perez ended up hitting the nut gun after completing his pit stop. Unfortunate Carlos rejoined the track in modest P11. What an unbelievable mess-up caused by Ferrari! At least Charles' pit stop three laps later went as planned.
Verstappen pitted from the lead on lap 19 for a fresh set of medium Pirellis. Hamilton, who had started to the race on the mediums, was now leading the race, with teammate Russell second, three seconds off the Briton. Nevertheless, Verstappen was lurking only five seconds behind Russell in spite of his pit stop. Max was driving half a second faster than the Silver Arrows, and the home crowd was cheering wildly, as their home hero made an easy-looking overtaking move on Russell on lap 28, claiming P2. Before getting threatened by the flying Dutchman, Hamilton was called in on lap 30. The Briton switched to the hard compound and came out in P5, 11 seconds ahead of Sainz in his Ferrari.
Charles Leclerc at Zandvoort in 2022.
Russell having pitted for hard Pirellis, Verstappen was back in the lead. Charles was second, eight seconds behind the Dutchman and Perez third, Hamilton fourth and Russell fifth. Perez had difficulties to match the Mercedes' pace, and Hamilton pushed his way past the Mexican. Only a couple of laps later also Russell made his way past Perez, whose pace left a lot to hope for.
Both Perez and Sainz had pitted for the second time and switched to hard Pirellis, when something bizarre happened. On lap 45 Tsunoda stopped his AlphaTauri on the track, reporting on the team radio, that some of his tyres wasn't properly fitted. The team replied, that everything was okay and told Tsunoda to rejoin the track. The Japanese had to pit, as he had already unfastened his seat belts. After rejoining the track he told on the team radio, that there was something broken in the rear end of his car. Tsunoda stopped his AlphaTauri at the pit exit, and virtual safety car was deployed.
The virtual safety car offered Verstappen a free pit stop. Mercedes opted for a double pit stop, as both Hamilton and Russell came in. This gave Verstappen a 16-second lead to Hamilton, who was on the medium Pirellis, whilst Verstappen was on the white-walled hard compound.
Only some ten laps later Bottas' Alfa Romeo came to a sudden halt at the end of the finish straight, which brought out safety car. This turned out as the final turning point in terms of the race result. Verstappen pitted for a fresh set of soft tyres, but due to this call he rejoined the track behind the Mercedes drivers. However, Mercedes called Russell in a lap later, and he, too opted for the soft compound. Mercedes made the call not to stop Hamilton, who was leading the race on worn mediums.
Carlos Sainz at the 2022 Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort. Photo by Ferrari.
Meanwhile, Sainz was taken into investigation by the stewards, as he had been dangerously released from the pits right ahead of Alpine's Alonso.
The restart took place with ten laps to go. Mercedes' strategy not to call Hamilton in turned out a devastating mistake. Verstappen had an incredible boost at the restart, and thanks to the fantastic grip from the soft tyres, he stormed past Hamilton immediately. Only a few laps later also Russell stormed past his teammate, who was absolutely pissed off on the team radio, questioning harshly his team's strategic call. Only to increase Hamilton's shock, Ferrari's Leclerc overtook him a couple of laps later. Mercedes had dramatically thrown away Hamilton's podium finish by not stopping him during the safety car.
Verstappen cruised to the chequered flag as the race winner for the fourth time in a row. This was already the 30th victory for the 24-year old Red Bull super star.
Third placed Charles Leclerc, Ferrari F1-75, after crossing the finish line during the F1 Grand Prix of The Netherlands at Circuit Zandvoort on September 04, 2022. Photo by Lars Baron.
Russell finished the runner-up, and Charles completed the podium. Being left out of podium in P4 was a bitter disappointment for Hamilton, who had been closely fighting for P2 till the safety car episode. Sainz crossed the finish line in P5, but due to the 5-second time penalty given for the unsafe release, the Spaniard was dropped down to P8, which promoted Perez to P5, Alonso to P6 and Norris to P7.
Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing fans enjoy the atmosphere during the F1 Grand Prix of The Netherlands at Circuit Zandvoort on September 04, 2022 in Zandvoort, Netherlands. Photo by Mark Thompson.
Unbelievable but true, Verstappen has a 109-point lead in the drivers' championship standings! Leclerc and Perez both have 201 points, with Russell fourth and Sainz fifth. Red Bull are in a league of their own with 511 points to Ferrari's 376. Mercedes are taking the battle to the Red Team sooner or later, as they are only 30 points down on the Italian team with 8 more rounds to go. Now it has to be said out loud: for the Red Team it is not realistic to believe in winning either one of the championships this season, although a mathematical chance still exists.
With passion for racing red,
Iina Huhmarniemi
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