Nithyanandam Ramasamy
Max Verstappen became the first Dutch driver to win the Dutch GP when he crossed the finish line on Sunday. The crowd at the Dutch GP weekend was in a party mood as they hosted a Formula 1 race for the first time since 1985. They weren’t disappointed by their hero as he comfortably won the race. Now let’s delve into the data and discuss the major talking points.
The First lap:
The first lap was crucial to gain places in Zandvoort as the track was narrow, and the overtaking was tricky. However, it has seen only 5-overtakes. Wonder, who mastered the race start yet again? If you have guessed Fernando Alonso, you are spot on. He made up 2-positions in the very first lap along with a stunning pass on the outside of Esteban Ocon in the banking corner. After a sensational qualifying performance, Antonio Giovinazzi had a start to forget where he lost 3-positions in the first lap. The Italian driver is running out of luck to save his Alfa Romeo seat!
The Top-2 battle:
Lewis Hamilton vs Max Verstappen had given us some intriguing strategic battle. However, we haven’t witnessed the repeat of the 2019-Hungarian GP nor the 2021-Spanish GP. Mercedes have twice tried to undercut Verstappen and Red Bull Racing, but they have managed to react before it’s too late. There was a window of opportunity where Hamilton was just 0.698s behind Verstappen on Lap 30. Should Mercedes have pitted him and opted for hard tyres? Would that have allowed them to undercut Red Bull Racing and Verstappen? That could have turned the race around. These are the fine margins that are going to decide the championship.
Best of the rest:
Pierre Gasly had an impeccable weekend as he finished the race in 4th position. AlphaTauri driver is continuing his fine form throughout this season. He was not only quick but has also managed his tyres in the second stint. He has done more laps than anyone on medium compound tyres. He managed to do 47-laps on his mediums and finish ahead of Charles Leclerc. In the meantime, Ferrari leave the Dutch GP with a strong overhaul of points ahead of their rival McLaren. However, they would be gutted that Carlos Sainz has had a drop-off, and Leclerc wasn’t able to catch Gasly towards the end.
Carlos Sainz’s pace drop:
Carlos Sainz had a decent outing until the tyre degradation caught him by surprise during the second stint. In the second stint, Sainz’s lap times were 0.636s slower than his teammate Charles Leclerc and 0.3s slower than Alonso, who was on medium compounds. His lap times were started to drop off after lap-50. It was enough for him to surrender the sixth position to Fernando Alonso. The team from Maranello have a job on their hands to understand whether his drop off directly connected to his Saturday’s crash.
Fernando is faster than you!:
Fernando mastered the race start, and he didn’t disappoint us towards the end as well. On Lap 50, he was behind Carlos Sainz by as many as 19s. From lap-51 to 71, he lapped nearly a second faster than Sainz. Sainz’s tyre degradation coupled with brave tyre management skills from Alonso led him to close down the gap and pass the fellow Spaniard on lap-71. It was truly a sensational race craft and tyre management skill from him as he also refused to swap the places with his teammate in the first stint. The maestro is brewing like a fine wine! Watch out more from him as he could have a lot left in his tank.
The Dutch GP was not a cliffhanger as expected, but the sea of orange has made the difference. Next, we move on from the sea of orange to the ocean of red as Monza is prepared to welcome back their fans. We don’t know what’s going to happen in the midfield, but we do know that Verstappen and Hamilton would bring out their next trick from the 2021 championship battle.
