It is dry for Formula 1 Zandvoort 2023. At least at the start, because some rain is on the way, although it may just blow past the circuit instead of over it. After all the carnivalesque situations with DJs and André Rieu and the Wilhelmus, 20 drivers kick off for the GP of the Netherlands. With 105,000 spectators, almost all of whom have donned, put on or tied an orange trinket.
As you may have read yesterday, Ricciardo has been replaced by Liam Lawson, because Ricciardo is in a sling. Nothing new under the sun hidden behind clouds. Max Verstappen took pole position yesterday with two fingers in his nose, ahead of Norris and Russell. So at the stroke of 3.05 pm the F1 machines with Max as the leader blast from their place towards the infamous Tarzan corner of the Dutch Grand Prix for 72 laps of racing.
Everyone survives that first corner, Alonso takes 3rd place from Russell, and it immediately starts to rain hard. While everyone is on slicks. Even before the first lap has been completed, a number of drivers pit for intermediates to get some grip, including Perez. The rest literally runs on eggshells. Including Russell, Norris, Piastri and Albon, because Verstappen came in for rain tires in lap 2. And in round 3, Perez, on his intersalready in charge.
Rain on / rain off at Zandvoort
After lap 6, 15 drivers are on inters and it slowly starts to dry up, the rain has stopped. So it’s waiting for the tipping point to go back to slicks (softs or mediums for now). Meanwhile, Verstappen kicks like crazy towards leader Perez with his inters, his lap times show why Perez plays a supporting role this season. The gentlemen who still ride on slicks are now – after lap 8 – one minute behind, so the field has really been torn apart by the splashes in lap 1. But they won’t have to change back when it gets really dry.
In lap 12 of Formula 1 Zandvoort 2023, Verstappen comes in from second place for softs. But he already has such an advantage over the rest that he remains second. Perez also takes softs on lap 13, putting Verstappen back in the lead – the infamous undercut. Behind the Red Bulls is Alonso, who, like the rest of the field, is also back on slicks. And Russell wonders why he’s not 3rd but 18th when the splashes come back, only to be gone a minute later. In recent days we heard a lot of murmuring about the fact that it is actually impossible to overtake at Zandvoort, but really one after the other overtakes each other.
On lap 16, Sargeant flies his Williams into the fence at Masters corner, which is a safety car gives. Many drivers are back in the pits for medium or hard tyres, and the whole field is huddling together. For the spectators – at home or on site – it is really a joy to watch, so much is happening. After 5 laps behind the safety car, the wall deformed by Sargeant has been straightened again, and Verstappen can start with what he has been doing all season: driving away from the rest. Although that is not easily done on the relatively short circuit of Zandvoort.
Top 3 of the start totally torn apart
Russell, who started 3rd, is in 17th place after 30 laps. Norris, who started in 2nd place, is in 10th place at the same time. Albon, who started 4th, is now 6th and actually only Alonso, who started 5th started, progress was made. Because he drives 3rd after 30 laps. Teammate Stroll: place 18. The track is now nice and dry, and one after the other overtaking action is still taking place.
Norris fights to regain places, so does Piastri, and Hamilton does his best to unnerve Norris. Ferrari has Sainz in 5th and Leclerc, with some damage to his car, in 15th – not very good. He even endures attacks from rookie Lawson. In lap 42, Ferrari helps Leclerc out of his misery, the car is driven into the garage. Several teams regularly shout from the pit wall that rain is coming. The rain radars do show some upcoming splashes, but halfway through the race it is still dry at the Formula 1 of Zandvoort 2023.
On lap 49, Alonso, then 2nd, comes in for a stop that is so jerky that both Perez and Sainz pass him. Perez and Verstappen go after it for a pit stop one lap later, and take up places 2 and 1 again. Alonso’s on-board radios are probably not suitable for young viewers. Like a ferocious Alonso pounds past Sainz in 2 laps with steam coming out of his ears. But he has lost the connection with Perez. For now, because heavy rain showers now seem to be plaguing the circuit towards the end of the race.
Nice wet end, race comes to a halt
After all the doubts and exaggerated rain clouds, the time has come in lap 61: heavy rain. Perez comes in, but his team isn’t ready with the right tapes. Precious seconds are lost. Verstappen decides, while everyone goes in, to stay out for an extra lap, but in lap 62 he is also on intermediates. No one chooses the full laws – that seems to be nothing as long as it is not an extreme and persistent downpour. Perez also shoots off the track, so that Alonso takes second place on lap 63 and Gasly lands on his tail. If Perez goes back on the track in the Tarzan corner, he also goes wrong, which can get him another penalty. He also hit the wall in the Tarzan, twisting his rear wing a bit.
It’s really going to be chaos now because it’s suddenly going to rain. Two Alfas shoot off the track, Hamilton too, Verstappen comes in right away for full wets, and it’s really raining so hard that a Code Rood comes right away. So the race is stopped on lap 64, because Zhou has gone straight ahead in the Tarzan and can go home. But his car needs to be towed away and the wall he demolished needs to be repaired too. The drivers can therefore take a pee while race control indicates that there will be a restart when the race is resumed for lap 65.
After all 105,000 visitors have been able to make a sanitary stop, the race will resume for the last laps. With a rolling start, two laps behind the safety car, and everyone has to drive on intermediates because the track is still soaking wet. And light rain is on the way, but at the end of lap 66 the race starts again. Where Alonso crawls directly on Verstappen’s butt and Perez gets 5 seconds on his pants for speeding in the pits. And Russell falls out after a kiss from Norris.
By lap 70, everyone has warmed up their tires and mastered the track, as far as possible, and Verstappen is slowly driving away from Alonso. And wins Formula 1 in Zandvoort for the third time in three years. Good looking.
Zandvoort Formula 1 2023 results
- Verstappen
- Alonso
- Gasly
- Perez
- Sainz
- Hamilton
- Norris
- Albon
- Piastri
- Ocon
- Stroll
- Hulkenberg
- Lawson
- Magnussen
- Bottas
- Tsunoda
- Russell
#Overtaking #spectacle #wet #Formula #Zandvoort