The rain that fell immediately after the start posed a major challenge for the strategists at the Dutch Grand Prix. It is not usual for Red Bull team members to be sidelined in such cases, but this also happened on Sunday, and leader Max Verstappen was not called up at the first opportunity, and this time a one-lap delay cost the defending champion several positions. But in general, the Dutchman did not mind the superiority of this, because everything went well from his point of view, and he did not find a winner in the ninth race in a row.
“It was a messy race.” When it started raining, it was difficult to make the right decisions. First off, my engineer said rain was expected, but it might not be heavy enough to require temporary rain tires, so I’d have to get through those few laps on dry track tires. It was a mutual decision that I would stay out for another round, but as it turned out, we didn’t make a good choice. Overall, this made the racing more fun, as I had to fight my way through a few cars and then overcome my shortcomings. In just a few laps, I gained about ten seconds, which was crucial later – The spotlight was on the two-time world championHe expressed his admiration for achieving another success in his country. -I felt goosebumps when the national anthem was played before the competition. The fans persevered despite the bad weather and created a great atmosphere – and praised their compatriots.
At the moment, Verstappen is not placing much importance on the fact that he has the longest winning streak in Formula 1 history in a tie with Sebastian Vettel, saying he will have to deal with that at the weekend, because he can be the sole leader as of Sunday if he wins at Monza. .
Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) could have stood in the way of Verstappen’s record, at least the Spaniard hesitated to seize first place for his Dutch rival after a red flag stop, but in the end he restrained himself.
– I was thinking of trying to bypass it after the restart, but I realized that if this coincided, it would not be easy for me to leave the track. So in the end I was satisfied with second place – the two-time World Cup winning driver hinted that it would have drawn the wrath of the spectators if the local favorite failed to win because of him. Second place meant a lot to Alonso anyway. – When Zandvoort returned to the racing calendar, I never thought I would be able to stand on the podium here, it was special. Our car flew today and was easy to drive, which was good because I needed a reliable car in these conditions.
In addition to Alonso, who claimed his first podium finish since mid-June, Pierre Gasly (Alpine) also had his hands full, finishing in the top three again after two years in the race. Last year, he dropped six times in points, with seventh place being the maximum for him.
– The summer break was good, and so was the fact that we made a great comeback. I got third place in the sprint race in Belgium, but that’s not like a real podium. The French driver added: It was a long and challenging race from start to finish.
Cover photo: Fernando Alonso on the Zandvoort platform (Photo: MTI/AP/Peter Dejong)
