Formula 1 returned to the Netherlands for the first time since 1985 this weekend, with Zandvoort hosting the Dutch Grand Prix.
It was the perfect result for the home crowd as Max Verstappen took victory, moving the Dutchman back to the top of the drivers’ championship.
Mercedes pairing Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas joined him on the podium.
The weekend also saw the return of Robert Kubica, who received a late call-up on Saturday morning for Alfa Romeo after Kimi Raikkonen tested positive for coronavirus.
Here’s what the drivers thought of the trip to the Netherlands:
Max Verstappen – 1st (Red Bull):
“It’s incredible to win here today on another home track and it feels great to take the lead in the Driver’s Championship again. Of course the expectations were very high coming into the weekend and it’s never easy to fulfil that but the whole crowd has been incredible and I am so happy to win here. It was quite a tough race, Lewis was really putting the pressure on and both Mercedes’ had really good pace but we managed to have that three second buffer when we needed it and I think that was very important. We can be really pleased with the whole Team performance; we made the right calls and we managed the race really well. 72 laps around this track is cool, especially in front of all these fans, they were incredible throughout the whole race, I’ve never experienced anything like this before in my life. I will of course celebrate at home this evening, but Monza is just around the corner and the championship fight is tight, so I want to make sure we perform at our best.”
Lewis Hamilton – 2nd (Mercedes):
“What a race and what a crowd, honestly, it’s been an amazing weekend. Max did a great job so congrats to him. I gave it everything I had out there, but they were just too quick for us this weekend. I think even if we’d have got everything right today with the traffic, the pit stops and the strategy, it’d still have been tough to get by them. We didn’t get those elements spot on, but either way, we pushed as much as we could and we’ll take it offline, debrief and see how we could have improved. We’ll be fighting right to the end. It was an incredibly difficult race out there, physically and mentally I think it was one of the toughest, but it’s an amazing track. The fastest lap at the end was one of my favourite parts of the race, it’s an incredible track to drive on low fuel, this is one of my favourite tracks now and I’ve had a great time here in Holland, so I’m looking forward to coming back next year.”
Valtteri Bottas – 3rd (Mercedes):
“It was quite a quiet race for me but as a team, we scored solid points and there’s been an amazing atmosphere here. Before the race, there was so much energy from the crowd, and it’s a really cool track to drive. Very hard to overtake on, but good fun. I was pushing hard out there but we committed to the one-stop strategy quite early on, and that needed too much management really and proved tricky. It definitely wasn’t as fast as the two-stop. We ended up stopping late in the race for safety as we had the gap behind, and I was starting to get some tyre vibrations. We were lacking a bit of speed here compared to Red Bull but Monza is a completely different circuit so I’m hopeful we can compete there.”
Christian Horner – Team Principal (Red Bull):
“It was an impeccable race for the Team today. There’s a fantastic atmosphere here and I’ve never seen a reaction like that in my whole career, the fans in Holland are incredible. It was important for Max to get a clean start, his ability to judge and read the grip level is very strong. We knew with the strategic options that Mercedes had that they were going to split the strategy and they did exactly that. It was also crucial for Max to make that pass on Valtteri quickly and then after that, we were able to cover Lewis. The Team did everything they could today to make sure Max had a smooth race and he did everything that he needed. Sergio won driver of the day and he has driven a great race. Not only did he take the penalty, he had a huge flat spot and we had to pit him for safety reasons, so he was in an even more difficult position then. He made great progress through the field, scoring important points for us and improving his confidence after a really tough Saturday. Looking ahead, Monza and Sochi are tracks that Mercedes have a stronghold, we’d expect them to have the upper hand, therefore the next two races are about trying to limit the damage and making sure we extract as much as we can out of the cars. It’s going to be really close and this championship looks like it’s going to go all the way to Abu Dhabi.”
Job well done!! 🙌🏆 Another superb effort from everyone at the track and back at the factory 👏 #DutchGP 🇳🇱 pic.twitter.com/DJ0ZBth7Oo
— Red Bull Racing Honda (@redbullracing) September 5, 2021
Pierre Gasly – 4th (AlphaTauri):
“It was an impeccable race for the Team today. There’s a fantastic atmosphere here and I’ve never seen a reaction like that in my whole career, the fans in Holland are incredible. It was important for Max to get a clean start, his ability to judge and read the grip level is very strong. We knew with the strategic options that Mercedes had that they were going to split the strategy and they did exactly that. It was also crucial for Max to make that pass on Valtteri quickly and then after that, we were able to cover Lewis. The Team did everything they could today to make sure Max had a smooth race and he did everything that he needed. Sergio won driver of the day and he has driven a great race. Not only did he take the penalty, he had a huge flat spot and we had to pit him for safety reasons, so he was in an even more difficult position then. He made great progress through the field, scoring important points for us and improving his confidence after a really tough Saturday. Looking ahead, Monza and Sochi are tracks that Mercedes have a stronghold, we’d expect them to have the upper hand, therefore the next two races are about trying to limit the damage and making sure we extract as much as we can out of the cars. It’s going to be really close and this championship looks like it’s going to go all the way to Abu Dhabi.”
Charles Leclerc – 5th (Ferrari):
“I’m pretty happy with our overall performance of this weekend. Finishing with both cars in the points today is a good result. The start was good, but then I didn’t want to take too many risks. I think the main surprise for everyone was how long the Mediums could last. Still, I think that the Soft–Hard combination was the right choice for us. We were very close in pace to the car ahead, but it was just not enough today.
The atmosphere was amazing, and it was really great to see so many people cheering in the grandstands. I can’t wait to see the same, just in red, in Monza next week.”
credit: @Scuderia Ferrari Press Office
Toto Wolff – Team Principal (Mercedes):
“Red Bull were faultless out there today so congrats to them and Max on the victory. Whatever we tried on the strategy, it was going to be difficult to compete with them. We tried everything we could, attempted the undercut a few times with Lewis and he was pushing to the maximum, but it wasn’t enough. For Valtteri, we put him on the one-stop but towards the end, he was struggling with the tyres, so we stopped him as a precaution as he was getting some vibrations. P2 and P3 is a solid result and good points for us, so now we look to Monza. I’m sure it’s going to be another close weekend and an exciting fight. It’s a very different track and the Sprint Qualifying format returns, so we could see a bit of a different story. Let’s see how it goes.”
Fernando Alonso – 6th (Alpine):
“It was a good weekend for us. We take some good points with sixth position and I thought we were generally competitive all weekend. Our start was good, but it was very close into turn one and two and I had to run wide to avoid hitting the cars around me. We then settled into a good rhythm and executed a solid race. Overtaking Carlos [Sainz] at the end felt fantastic, as early in the race I didn’t think we could catch the Ferraris. It’ll be interesting to see if we can carry our form into Monza. Spa in the dry was the first time we ran with a very low downforce, so let’s see if we can have another good weekend there.”
Carlos Sainz – 7th (Ferrari):
“Overall it’s been a positive weekend for the team, although it hasn’t been the best for me, despite the good recovery from yesterday. My race today was very far from what I was looking for. I could not match the pace I had on Friday, as I completely lost the good feeling I’d had with the car up until then. I just couldn’t find the right balance, sliding too much and I had a lot of degradation. I was planning to attack and fight for positions, but I ended up having to defend. We need to analyse what happened today and move on. On the positive side, we scored some good points for the team, which puts us in a stronger position in the Constructors’. Now I am looking forward to Monza. It will be my first Italian GP as a Ferrari driver and I am sure it’ll be a weekend I will remember forever.”
Sergio Perez – 8th (Red Bull):
“I gave it my all, every overtake was on the limit and I had to take a lot of risks. Today was all about damage limitation as I started from the pits after taking the penalty for the engine change. It was a bit of a shame at the end when Lando and I touched, I had a lot of damage on the right-hand side of the car. I think it was a racing indecent as I wasn’t given enough space and I don’t think he could see me. Since that point I lost a lot of grip, otherwise, I definitely think P6 was on the cards today. I really wish I could have given more to the Dutch fans, they have been incredible all weekend. From now on it’s just about looking ahead and trying to come back strong in Monza.”
¡Lo dimos todo para recuperarnos, ya tomamos nuestro motor nuevo, sumamos algunos puntos y ahora “full focus” para Monza!
¡QuĂ© gusto me dio por Max y todo el equipo, un ambiente y apoyo espectacular! ¡Gracias! pic.twitter.com/MwC5Mi7LPw— Sergio PĂ©rez (@SChecoPerez) September 5, 2021
Mattia Binotto – Team Principal (Ferrari):
“A solid race from the whole team, which allowed us to bring home a significant points haul for the Constructors’ classification. We knew that, on a track that is very demanding in terms of tyre management, we could have found ourselves in a situation similar to the one we experienced at the French Grand Prix, but the team and drivers have worked a lot on this aspect and the results of our efforts were clear to see. Of course, it’s not a result to get really excited about and we are perfectly aware that there is still a lot to do to get back to the same level as those currently fighting for the wins. Now our focus shifts immediately to the next race at Monza. After a great show from the Dutch fans this weekend, we can’t wait to be racing in front of our own tifosi and we hope we can give them something to smile about.”
Esteban Ocon – 9th (Alpine):
“It was an eventful race at the wheel, and I’m pleased to score points today. The start was pretty busy, but I enjoyed the battles out there. On our side, we probably had the pace to be a position or two higher, but we weren’t so lucky with some situations like blue flags at crucial times. As a team, though, we’ve shown good pace all weekend and we can be pleased with that. It’s important points for the Constructors’ Championship and we move onto Monza aiming for a repeat of the same. We were competitive there last year, and the target is to continue the points run.”
Lando Norris – 10th (McLaren):
“A bit of a mixed result today. Disappointing because it’s P10, but good because I didn’t think we could’ve done a lot more from thirteenth. It’s such a difficult track to overtake on, but we had good pace, we had a good strategy and I think we have to be happy with one point. I think that’s the best we could’ve done today. Maybe if we’d started in a better position and did a better job yesterday, we could’ve achieved a little bit more – so we need to look at how we can learn from it. Still, I’m satisfied, and we’ll use it to make sure we bounce back and are much stronger in Monza.”
Daniel Ricciardo – 11th (McLaren):
“Difficult race. Coming up to the line, I went to pull the clutch and it wasn’t working, so my preferred clutch paddle had an issue. I did the start with my other hand and that was a big part of losing a position to Russell off the line. But we recovered well and I got back past Russell and Giovinazzi. We actually gained a position on lap one when I thought we were going to lose a few, so that was great. We were then just stuck behind the Alpines. They were saving the tyres and I was just trying to stay with them. Once they opened it up, I didn’t have their pace. We put the Hard tyre on and were trying to get into a bit of a rhythm. We also tried to execute a team strategy to maximise points, which cost me some race time. It was hard to get going after that and I think ultimately the pace wasn’t that good. We did struggle a bit, for different reasons, in the first and second stint. We were P10 at one point today, but it was hard to see how we could’ve been much higher than that. I’d have obviously loved to score points, but we’ll analyse it and learn from it. Next up, Monza! Give me some pizza!”
Lance Stroll – 12th (Aston Martin):
“We can see from the race just how important qualifying is and unfortunately we were compromised yesterday, so we had it all to do today. I made an OK start off the line, but I was not able to make up any places. After that, I could only really follow George [Russell] for the majority of the race in a train of cars. Without a significant tyre delta, it is almost impossible to overtake here. We will look into the strategy to see what else we could have done, but I do not think we could have done a lot differently. Zandvoort is a great track to drive and it is definitely more of a Saturday circuit. I am happy to see it on the calendar, but perhaps there are ways to look into improving overtaking on a Sunday. For now, we will reset and focus on Monza.”
Sebastian Vettel – 13th (Aston Martin):
“It was one of those days which shows that if you start further back it is really hard to recover, especially on a track where overtaking is so tricky. I had to take a lot of risks when overtaking, but if you qualify out of position it is difficult to come back. When I did have some clean air, in the final part of the race, the pace was very competitive and I found a good rhythm. From where we started, we had to try to do something different with the strategy and I was happy with our approach.”
Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin AMR21
Andreas Seidl – Team Principal (McLaren):
“That was a lot of hard work for one point. It was the race we were expecting, given our starting positions and the way we’ve been struggling for pace this weekend. We gave it our best and didn’t leave anything on the table, with the drivers and their crews working very well together to see if we could extract more. In the end, we had to accept there wasn’t anything else available. Thanks to Daniel for playing the team game today to try to maximise our points, but unfortunately it didn’t pay off this time. Thanks, in fact, to the whole team at the track and back at the factory, plus our colleagues from HPP, for their hard work. From a wider perspective, the returning Dutch Grand Prix was a sensational show, with the Dutch fans in the grandstands making it very special. I’m sure it’s a highlight for everyone here at the track – but now we have to regroup and reset very quickly, with the aim of striking back in Monza in just a few days’ time.”
Antonio Giovinazzi – 14th (Alfa Romeo):
“It was a good start from a good position, but already in the first lap I had contact with Fernando and dropped some places. We were still in the top ten and looking solid, but then a puncture compromised our race. It had been a really good weekend until then but that bad luck during the race means we didn’t score any points. Now we focus fully on Monza, my home race: I’m looking forward to giving a good show to all the Tifosi.”
Robert Kubica – 15th (Alfa Romeo):
“I am quite happy with my race, even if it was not easy to step in on one of the toughest, most physical tracks. Last time I did a full race distance was nearly two years ago in Abu Dhabi, but in the end it was a good race and I even had some fun battles. Everyone probably expected a chaotic race, with yellow flags, safety cars, but none of this happened: I still managed to have a good fight with Sebastian [Vettel] and then catch Latifi and pass him in the final lap, which was fun. Considering the amount of preparation I had, I am very pleased with how the race went and I am ready if the team needs me again.”
Nicholas Latifi – 16th (Williams):
“As we expected, Zandvoort was a tricky circuit for racing and there weren’t many opportunities to pass other cars out there. It was never going to be easy starting from the pit lane, and it took Sergio (Perez) and I about two laps to catch back up with the pack. The first stint was good; I managed to pass both Haas cars and I was happy with our pace. We did a long stint on the hard tyres though, so managing those became challenging towards the end of the race and I was losing temperature due to the blue flags, so it was a bit of a struggle today.”
It was always going to be a tricky afternoon starting from the pitlane! A few overtakes and an electric crowd and atmosphere were the highlights for me! 🙌🏻
Thank you Zandvoort! Onto Monza! 🔜 #DutchGP #NL6 pic.twitter.com/mmbUGsoMp8— Nicholas Latifi (@NicholasLatifi) September 5, 2021
George Russell – 17th/DNF (Williams):*
“Our race was respectable. The first stint was good, keeping up with Antonio Giovinazzi and the McLarens ahead. When I pitted, I pushed it to the maximum on the pit entry. It’s a really tricky entry here and I overdid it slightly unfortunately. The five second time penalty didn’t really compromise our race though and we would have come home either 12th or 13th if we hadn’t had to retire the car with a gearbox issue a few laps from the end. I am already looking forward to next weekend in Italy; Monza is a completely different track to here where we run almost minimum downforce compared to Zandvoort which is almost maximum downforce. We also have the sprint race too which will offer opportunities.”
*Russell retired from the race but was classified ahead of Schumacher having completed more laps.
Frederic Vasseur – Team Principal (Alfa Romeo):
“It was a day in which luck was not on our side, with a potential good result lost to an unfortunate series of circumstances. Coming on the back of our best qualifying performance since 2014, we were confident we could have a good race. Sadly, Antonio suffered a contact in the opening stages and lost a few positions as a result. His race was further compromised when he had a puncture just a few laps after his pit stop and had to return for a fresh set of tyres: after that, he was good to recover a few places but the top ten remained out of reach. Robert had a good race, with some entertaining battles and his final lap pass on Latifi was a nice way to bring the race to a close. We finish 14th and 15th on a weekend where we would have deserved more.”
Farewell Netherlands. Next stop: home 🏠#DutchGP pic.twitter.com/324tYMOWQ0
— Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN (@alfaromeoracing) September 5, 2021
Mick Schumacher – 18th (Haas):
“Tough – it could’ve been better. It seemed there was an issue with the front wing – I’m not quite sure what it was – but I was losing a lot of front end, so I came in to change it. The hard tire didn’t really run how I wanted it to, so we had to pit a bit early onto the medium and that worked a lot better, so from that perspective we can be quite happy. I’m definitely looking forward to coming back here next year.”
Yuki Tsunoda – DNF (AlphaTauri):
“Today’s result is disappointing of course, we saw an issue on the PU data and unfortunately had to retire the car. Up until that point the race was going quite well and the pace of the car was there, but it was hard to overtake. I’ve got to look forward to Monza now, I have some experience on that circuit which is good. I’m going to take the same approach as this week, slowly building up the pace and hopefully we can put it all together next week.”
Nikita Mazepin – DNF (Haas):
“I’m upset on having to retire the car as my job is to drive and I’ve not driven enough over the last few race weekends. Luckily, I don’t feel at fault for this, so that’s one thing to put in the back of your mind. I was having a good race, I was having a lot of fun – I had a very good opening lap, and I was then trying to manage what we had. Unfortunately, the hydraulic issue meant we needed to manage things, turn down the engine – which meant Robert Kubica got by us. As a precaution then we had to stop and retire the car. I was giving it my best and I just want to get the best result for the team. It just wasn’t meant to be today.”
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