2021 Dutch Grand Prix News

The Formula 1 bandwagon heads to one of its oldest races this weekend, the Dutch Grand Prix at Circuit Zandvoort. Sundaram Ramaswami brings you all the stats and numbers to watch out for this weekend.

Circuit Zandvoort first featured on the F1 calendar in 1952 and has since hosted 30 Grands Prix. The last time it was held, in 1985, ‘Amazon.com’ was yet to be founded, Sir Alex Ferguson hadn’t joined Manchester United and our current seven-time champion, Lewis Hamilton, was just seven months old. 

The Netherlands returns to the sport after a lengthy hiatus of 36 years, the longest interval between two championship events for a host country. The circuit has undergone a major revamp since its last race and the new track layout will host a Grand Prix for the very first time. The track length at 4.259 km is the second-shortest of the 2021 calendar, after Monaco. However, all the previous Dutch Grands Prix were run on even shorter versions.

Rarely would you come across circuits that don’t feature the ‘Schumacher’ or ‘Hamilton’ names on their leaderboards, but Zandvoort is one such venue. Triple-world champion Jim Clark is the most successful driver here with four victories, while Ferrari have triumphed here on eight occasions. Ford Cosworth’s legendary engines that dominated the sport between the 60s and 80s have 10 wins here in 17 races. While Clark only has a single pole at this venue, his team Lotus have accumulated eight pole positions over the years. With the track being quite narrow especially for the new-age cars, qualifying higher up the grid usually provides a bonus on race day. Over 70% of the races have been won from the front row, but that didn’t seem to bother the likes of Niki Lauda who took his 25th and last F1 win, after starting 10th at the last Dutch Grand Prix. Pole-sitters will also hope to keep ill-luck at bay, as they’ve suffered 11 retirements in the 30 races here. 

The circuit is located near the North Sea but the highlight will be its own sea of orange for its local hero, Max Verstappen. For several years, the Belgian GP has been the de facto home for Verstappen, considering his half-Belgian roots. But with Zandvoort making a return this season, Verstappen will finally have the opportunity to drive in front of his home crowd. Barring Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Raikkonen, every other driver on the 2021 grid has a home race in F1. Going by Red Bull’s current form, Verstappen is a prime candidate for victory on Sunday. If he does so, he’ll become only the third driver alongside Nico Rosberg (Hockenheim) and Lewis Hamilton (Silverstone) to win their home race in the hybrid era. In addition, Verstappen’s last race finish outside the points was 99 races ago, at the 2016 Belgian GP. He’s on course to reach the magical century mark this Sunday. 

With the return of Zandvoort also comes the return of banked-corners in F1, the last of which was seen at Indianapolis in 2007. The final corner at this track is banked at 18°, which is twice as steep as the final turn at Indianapolis. While many of the 2021 drivers have driven at this circuit in their junior careers, drivers will still have to rely on their simulators to get a feel of the new track before Friday’s practice sessions. That said, Mercedes seem unfazed by new or returning circuits. They’ve consistently won the first race at any new or returning circuit on the F1 calendar since 2014. To date, the Brackley-based team have participated in just one Dutch GP (1955) but still ended up taking pole and a one-two race finish. It would be interesting to see if Mercedes can take their first one-two finish of 2021 at Vertsappen’s home race. This weekend also presents Hamilton with the opportunity to register a win at a 30th different circuit. The defending champion has won at all the circuits he’s raced at except for Yeongam, Valencia, New Delhi and Magny-Cours.

The safety car has also never made an appearance at the Dutch Grand Prix, nor has any race here been red-flagged. But with rain forecast for this weekend, there’s a possibility we could see either or both of them.

 - Sundaram Ramaswami

 Twitter/Instagram - @f1statsguru