Will Verstappen overtake everyone for a lap at the Dutch Grand Prix in 2023?
After two sun-drenched editions, the Dutch Grand Prix in 2023 will be a damp affair. The summer weather has been ailing all weekend. Then drops again, then sunshine again, often some clouds. It also has its advantages. Slightly fewer people contract melanoma and the action on the track is a bit more exciting.
However, the battle for P1 seems to have been played out despite everything. Verstappen is supreme in all circumstances. Jack’s Casino apparently has a bonus to give you back a hundred times your Euro if you bet it once on Max for the win. We therefore suspect that the gambling shop will be declared bankrupt tomorrow. Or would something crazy happen that Max chokes on?
Start
As the rain begins to fall, the lights go out for the third Dutch Grand Prix in recent history. Verstappen retains the lead for Norris. Albon pushes Russell, but then loses to Alonso. The Spaniard then immediately places an opportunistic attack on Russell. He already takes P3. What a hero this man is. Not always fair according to Felipe Massa, but he can race like no other.
As the round comes to an end, however, it starts to rain seriously hard. Nevertheless, a number of drivers initially continue. This includes Verstappen, Alonso, Norris and Russell. It doesn’t really seem like a smart move. Perez pits right away. He has to wait a while before he can leave again. But one round later it turns out to be an inspired decision.
Perez cuts through the field and moves into the race lead with ease. Verstappen stops a lap later and falls far back in the field. When Russell and Norris also stop, Guanyu Zhou is the second man on inters. At Ferrari they are not ready with tires again. Rookie Lawson gets in the way of Magnussen. Complete pandemonium.
You would now say that it might have been an exciting win between Max and Checo. The Mexican has a thirteen second lead by stopping a lap earlier. But it is insane how fast Verstappen closes the gap. Really, unbelievable. In no time he is within three seconds of PER.
And then the team helps Max a little bit. It’s dry enough for slicks. Of course, Red Bull also sees this in the times of others. But now they let Max stop first and Checo only one lap later. The latter thus loses six seconds. Instead of three seconds ahead, he is three seconds behind Max after his pit stop. Bit bland and unnecessary. But yes, all the forces that are present here today will of course help the Dutchman to victory.
In lap 17, Sargeant again hangs his Williams in the wall. The American is reportedly safe with team blue for next year. But his performance is definitely not over. Funnily enough, his first two races were pretty good. But since then it has only gotten worse. Logan ponders his sins on the grass in the dunes for a moment. During the safety car that follows, the weather clears up a bit…for now.
Mid Race: restart behind safety car
With the top-5 consisting of Verstappen, Perez, Alonso, Gasly and Sainz, the field goes wild again at the start of lap 22. Max easily holds P1. Alonso insists on Perez. However, he sees it coming and defends himself adequately. Magnussen has moved up to P7 through two well-timed stops from a pit lane start. But we know from the Haas F1 that the thing is no reed tendon has. So he is quickly relegated back to P9 by Albon and Ocon.
Then nothing important happens. The top 10 settles. The Hazen and Alphas fall back, Hamilton creeps into the top 10. Albon and Tsunoda do the best business. The British Thai is back in 6th place and the Japanese is driving around in P8. Rookie Liam Lawson, meanwhile, falls through the basket. Maybe we shouldn’t expect more, but the Kiwi drives more moderately than Nyck de Vries did.
Leclerc also drives a dragon of a race and drives a presumably slightly damaged Ferrari around in P15. No wonder the Monegask has indicated that he can’t wait for the car for next year. After a fight with Lawson, Ferrari parks the car in the pit. The big question for now, however, is: will there be more water? Otherwise, this spectacular match will go out like a night candle.
Finish
Verstappen is already almost ten seconds away from Perez, so that is no stress for the public. Tsunoda is doing very well and climbs up to P5 like Albon pit. With 26 laps to go several drivers come in for the final stops. Perez also stops, while Verstappen and Alonso drive on for a while.
If Alonso does stop, he has a slow stop. The change of the left front wheel is not going well. Sainz moves on to P3. But Alonso is so quick on this track with the Aston’s new floor that the younger Spaniard has no chance of holding onto the podium. Tsunoda, meanwhile, is through his tires and gets Russel, Albon, Ocon and Norris in his neck. Not for the first time, the good works of the Japanese are in vain.
Gasly wants to pass Sainz, but Carlos doesn’t feel like it. Hamilton does manage to pack Ocon. Then he goes on the hunt for Russell, who is riding around on very old hards and almost loses his W14. RUS then lets HAM go. Some rain is still on the radar. But yes, twelve rounds… Will it be a long end?
Of course! Perez is back in nice and fast, but the team is not doing well with the tires. Verstappen and Alonso continue a lap. The top 5 remains unchanged. It then gets wetter very quickly and Perez purrs. He can continue but loses P2 to Alonso. Guanyu Zhou is the next dropout in the boarding. In the replay we see that Hamilton was also shot off the track. And then the inevitable red flag waves…unfortunately. They can really throw away the full law. After all, every time it rains hard enough for it, a red flag follows.
Second restart and real finish
The next replay shows that Tsunoda also slipped off the track and that Perez hit the pit wall when entering the pit. The restart goes off in the order Verstappen – Alonso – Perez – Gasly – Sainz – Hamilton – Norris – Russell – Albon – Piastri. Unfortunately, it won’t be a standing start after Australia’s epic experience.
Verstappen has no pressure from Alonso. Russell packs up Norris. Perez has done something stupid again. He drove too fast in the pit. That is normally about his chance for P2. It’s over for Russell too. Norris tries to catch up with him and it comes to a touché.
Verstappen is once again first. Rain, a poor decision for the first stop, it doesn’t matter. Nothing stops the Dutchman. He has now won 9 races in a row. Only Vettel did that before, also for Red Bull Racing. Alonso is second, Gasly third after Perez’s penalty. The Mexican is lucky that Sainz holds up the rest, so that he is still flagged fourth.
Behind Sainz, Hamilton, Noriis, Albon, Piastri and Ocon complete the top 10. Lawson finishes ahead of Tsunoda on his paper debut. It is not representative of either race, but the Kiwi keeps its nose clean in the closing stages. Not the Japanese. It will be enough to get back to work in Monza. That race is already in a week in the Parco Nazionale. Come on with that high speed sock.
Pos | driver | Points |
---|---|---|
1 |
Max Verstappen
|
25 |
2 |
Fernando Alonso
|
19 |
3 |
Pierre Gasley
|
15 |
4 |
Sergio Perez
|
12 |
5 |
Carlos Sainz Jr.
|
10 |
6 |
Lewis Hamilton
|
8 |
7 |
Lando Norris
|
6 |
8 |
Alexander Albon
|
4 |
9 |
Oscar Pistri
|
2 |
10 |
Esteban Ocon
|
1 |
11 |
Lance Stroll
|
0 |
12 |
Nico Hulkenberg
|
0 |
13 |
Liam Lawson
|
0 |
14 |
Kevin Magnussen
|
0 |
15 |
Valttery Bottas
|
0 |
16 |
Yuki Tsunoda
|
0 |
17 |
George Russell
|
0 |
DNF |
Logan Sergeant
|
0 |
DNF |
Zhou Guanyu
|
0 |
DNF |
Charles Leclerc
|
0 |
This article Result Formula 1: Grand Prix of the Netherlands 2023 appeared first on Autoblog.nl.
#Result #Formula #Grand #Prix #Netherlands