Analysis of the Dutch Grand Prix, brought to you by Bahrain International Circuit
MOTORSPORT – Given the momentum that McLaren had prior to the summer break, it came as no surprise that the team in papaya dominated the time sheets in practice and qualifying.
Lando Norris seemed to have the measure of Piastri in the practice sessions, however the Australian managed a marginally faster lap in qualifying to take pole, but there was little in it between the two.
Lurking behind was Max Verstappen in third, who would need no invitation in front of his passionate home crowd to interfere at the front.
Further back, Isack Hadjar pulled off a major surprise to qualify fourth in the Racing Bull, his best qualifying performance to date.
He was ahead of George Russell in fifth, followed by Leclerc and Hamilton in the Ferraris.
Lawson, Sainz and Alonso completed the top 10 on the grid.
Piastri got off to a solid start for the race, whilst Verstappen used all his race craft to pull a move early on against Norris.
It wasn’t his cleanest attempt but he made it stick to split the McLarens on the opening lap.
There were a few factors at play as the drivers settled into their rhythm at the start.
Pit stop strategy was a toss-up between a one and two stop, however there was an early threat of light rain which could impact strategy and planning.
It is also not a straightforward circuit for overtaking, so track position would always be key.
Having taken a few laps to get close to Verstappen, Norris managed an impressive move going into turn one on lap nine, to move him back to second. He clearly didn’t get the memo about the difficulties in overtaking.
His next task was to catch Piastri upfront who had stretched out a four second lead.
Further behind, there was drama on lap 24 as Hamilton hit the barrier, causing a safety car. This led to a string of stops at the front.
Unfortunately for Leclerc, he had stopped on the previous lap, so put him back to sixth, with Verstappen still behind the McLarens followed by Hadjar and Russell.
As the race got back underway, Leclerc and Russell fought closely, with Leclerc producing an overtake for fifth place.
Russell received some car damage in the process, so was ordered by his team to let Antonelli through to try and chase down Leclerc.
Upfront, Piastri and Norris were both looking to get to the end on their hard tyres, with Piastri upfront maintaining a 1.5 second lead.
There was more drama to come for Ferrari, as on lap 53 Antonelli was trying to get ahead of Leclerc and the pair came together.
It ended Leclerc’s race. It looked like something of a rookie error from the Mercedes driver and he received a 10 second penalty from the stewards for his efforts.
A safety car ensued and the front runners all went in for new tyres.
This meant there was a 15-lap sprint to the end.
Norris was keeping close to Piastri, but with just six laps remaining Norris had a dramatic engine failure and was out.
It was a hugely disappointing end to a competitive fight at the front and a cruel blow to the British driver.
The safety car after the Norris stoppage enabled the race to restart with four laps to go and Piastri comfortably held off Verstappen for the win.
Norris’ exit also meant that Hadjar claimed his first ever podium causing huge celebrations in the Racing Bulls garage.
Outside of the podium places, George Russell claimed fourth, followed by Albon, Bearman and the two Aston Martins of Stroll and Alonso.
Tsunoda and Ocon completed the top ten.
Norris’ engine failure was undoubtedly a massive moment for the season. Had Norris taken the lead and won, the championship gap would have been just two points.
It is now 34 points. This will be a hugely bitter pill for him to swallow and a massive dent to his championship hopes. All he can hope for is to pick himself up for next weekend in Monza.
The main news coming out in the summer break was that Cadillac confirmed Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas as their drivers for next year.
It’s an interesting choice, given they are both hugely experienced drivers who have recent histories with championship winning teams.
Clearly they have placed a lot of value on that knowledge as they build towards their first season.
What’s great for fans in Bahrain is that the first time you will be able to see the team in action will be at pre-season testing next February in Bahrain.
All Early Bird tickets will offer free access to testing with this deal ending next Sunday.
You can head to bahraingp.com for more information and tickets.
Laurence Jones is senior manager, Marketing and Communications, Bahrain International Circuit
l.jones@bic.com.bh
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