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2022 Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix highlights

2022 Formula 1 Dutch GP
Introduction

 

Max Verstappen held onto victory in a captivating 2022 Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix amid a strong showing from the Mercedes and late Safety Car drama at Zandvoort, as George Russell and Charles Leclerc completed the podium.

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Verstappen seemed to be assured of victory, having taken a second pit stop during a Virtual Safety Car on Lap 48, with Hamilton second and Russell third as both had extended their opening stint on medium tyres (their rivals having started on softs) to pit for hards, on which they were rapid. However, the events after a Lap 55 Safety Car dashed any hopes of victory that Hamilton harboured.

The seven-time champion stayed out on mediums to inherit the lead while Verstappen came in for softs, followed by Russell and Leclerc, for the restart on Lap 61. In that restart, Verstappen swept past the Mercedes for the lead, with Russell and Leclerc following suit to pry Hamilton away from the podium.

Hamilton ended up fourth at the flag as Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez – the former held back by a calamitous Ferrari pit stop earlier on, before a five-second penalty for an unsafe release in a later stop – battled late on for P5. That allowed Alonso and Norris to close in too, and when the penalty kicked in, Sainz was dropped to eighth, promoting Perez to fifth, Alonso to sixth, and Norris to seventh.

Esteban Ocon finished ninth, just ahead of Lance Stroll – who started and finished 10th for Aston Martin. Pierre Gasly missed out on the points in P11 for AlphaTauri, while Alex Albon finished 12th from 15th on the grid.

Sebastian Vettel started 19th and finished 14th, losing out to Mick Schumacher – who lost out due to a pair of slow pit stops. The four-time champion was given a five-second penalty for ignoring blue flags earlier in the race.

Kevin Magnussen hit the barriers on Lap 2 but continued to finish 15th, behind his Haas teammate. Daniel Ricciardo pitted first out of the pack and couldn’t make up ground, finishing 17th for McLaren behind Zhou Guanyu, who served a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane.

Valtteri Bottas was classified 19th for Alfa Romeo, his car stopping on track to bring out the late Safety Car.

Yuki Tsunoda stopped on track on Lap 48 after reporting a driveshaft issue, the AlphaTauri driver having previously reported that his tyres were incorrectly fitted before a lengthy pit stop.

Mario Isola – Motorsport Director, Pirelli:

We saw an exciting and emotional race, ultimately influenced by two variables that can happen at a tricky circuit like Zandvoort: different strategies thanks to the contained degradation of the soft and the strong performance of the hard compound. There was also a virtual safety car and then a safety car, which kept the action unpredictable all the way to the flag, with plenty of overtaking thanks to the latest regulations as well. We saw a sea of orange in the grandstands, and I’d like to add another colour to the Dutch Grand Prix’s panorama: white, the colour of our hard tyre. That hard tyre was one of the show’s stars, thanks to very low degradation and plenty of speed. The track evolution over the course of the weekend ensured that it came into its own on race day, with many teams adapting their strategies to make use of it. All three compounds played an important role over Zandvoort’s rollercoaster lap, with three drivers from three different teams on the podium.

How the race was won:

The phenomenal performance of the P Zero White hard tyre, along with a virtual safety car and the safety car, influenced the outcome of the race. Verstappen started from the pole on the soft tyre in his Red Bull and then switched to the medium tyre, giving Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton – who had started on the medium – an advantage in track position. Once Hamilton switched to the hard, he was able to make his pace count. But during the race neutralisations, Red Bull made exactly the right strategy calls, with all the frontrunners making the same number of tyre changes in the end. At the final re-start, Verstappen found himself on soft tyres behind Hamilton on the medium tyres, and he was able to use the speed of this compound to help make the difference.

The alternative strategy:

Of the 20 drivers on the grid, 16 started on the soft tyre and just four on the medium – including both Mercedes. This set up a brilliant alternative strategy, as it unlocked the door to a one-stopper, thanks to the incredibly low degradation of the hard tyre over a long stint. Mercedes was the first to realise this, which is what put them in a position to challenge for victory from P4 on the grid – but then the safety car periods mixed up the cards.

2022 Formula 1 Dutch GP Race Results

PosNoDriverCountryTeamTimePointsOverall
1.1Max VerstappenNetherlandsRed Bull Racing Honda1:36:42.77326310
2.63George RussellGreat BritainMercedes-AMG Petronas+4.071s18182
3.16Charles LeclercMonacoScuderia Ferrari+10.929s15201
4.44Lewis HamiltonGreat BritainMercedes-AMG Petronas+13.016s12158
5.11Sergio PerezMexicoRed Bull Racing Honda+18.168s10201
6.14Fernando AlonsoSpainAlpine F1 Team+18.754s859
7.4Lando NorrisGreat BritainMclaren Racing+19.306s682
8.55Carlos SainzSpainScuderia Ferrari+20.916s4175
9.31Esteban OconFranceAlpine F1 Team+21.117s266
10.18Lance StrollCanadaAston Martin F1 Team+22.459s111
11.10Pierre GaslyFranceScuderia AlphaTauri+27.009s018
12.23Alexander AlbonThailandWilliams Racing+30.390s04
13.47Mick SchumacherGermanyHaas F1 Team+32.995s012
14.5Sebastian VettelGermanyAston Martin F1 Team+36.007s020
15.20Kevin MagnussenDenmarkHaas F1 Team+36.869s022
16.24Zhou GuanyuChinaAlfa Romeo F1 Team+37.320s05
17.3Daniel RicciardoAustraliaMcLaren Racing+37.764s019
18.6Nicholas LatifiCanadaWilliams Racing+1 lap00
19.77Valtteri BottasFinlandAlfa Romeo F1 TeamDNF046
20.22Yuki TsunodaJapanScuderia AlphaTauriDNF011

2022 Constructor Standings

PosPictureTeamPoints
1.Red Bull Racing759
1.Scuderia Ferrari554
3.Mercedes-AMG F1 Team515
4.Alpine F1 Team173
5.McLaren Racing159
6.Alfa Romeo Racing55
7.Aston Martin F1 Team55
8.Haas F1 Team37
9.Scuderia AlphaTauri35
10.Williams Racing8

Here are the team-by-team highlights:

Red Bull Racing

 

Reigning FIA Formula One World Champion Max Verstappen secured his 30th Grand Prix victory and 10th win of the 2022 season with a brilliant drive for Oracle Red Bull Racing on home soil in the 2022 Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix, with team-mate Sergio Pérez claiming a fifth place at the Circuit Zandvoort.

Verstappen started his home race from pole position and was totally dominant after making a perfect start and leading the field away on the short run to Zandvoort’s first turn.

Despite a Virtual Safety Car and later Safety Car throwing potential spanners into the works, Verstappen was simply too good for the rest of the field and cruised to victory over Mercedes driver George Russell by 4.071s, much to the delight of the massive Dutch crowd.

With Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finishing in third place, Verstappen extended his lead in the Drivers’ Standings to an impressive 109 points over both Leclerc and team-mate Sergio Pérez, who both started and finished the race in the fifth position. The pair are now tied on 201 points each after Zandvoort.

Max Verstappen

Today was quite eventful and not a straightforward race at all. We had to make the right calls, and it all worked out well in the end. Mercedes were very quick on the harder compound, which we didn’t expect, so it made it more difficult for us as we were less compatible with the hards. We managed everything quite well, and we made the right calls on the strategy, so well done to the team here and back at the factory. It’s always special to win your home Grand Prix, but I had to work even harder this year for it. It’s incredible to win again in front of this crowd, we’ve had unbelievable support here, and I’m proud to be Dutch.

Sergio Pérez

Obviously, this was a great day for the team, but it wasn’t the best day at the office for me. I struggled with tyre degradation in the first and second stints, and I never quite got the balance where I wanted it to be. It was a hectic race with incidents in the pit lane, but I was lucky that my front wing wasn’t damaged when I drove over the wheel gun. Despite the difficulty I had, we managed to save some good points. There is a lot to take away from today and plenty to understand from our side so that we can come back strong in Monza.

Christian Horner – Team Principal & CEO

This was a huge race with an incredible amount of anticipation and pressure. It was also a strategically tough race. First, with the virtual safety car and then the full safety car. To pit Max in the lead with 12 laps to go, putting him behind two Mercedes, is a big call, but it was the right one. We would prefer to be on the better tyre. However, what you see here is only 10 per cent of the team; what goes on behind the scenes makes this possible. The team is operating at an extremely high level, and it’s all the support and effort that you don’t see back in Milton Keynes that makes a victory like this possible. All in all, it was a fantastic team performance, and both drivers were in the zone from the moment they arrived at the track. Checo was unfortunately jumped at the restart by Carlos, and I think, in hindsight, we should have overruled his preference for the medium tyre, but he had a strong race. We’re in a great position and happy, although nothing is done until it is done. We operate one race at a time and don’t allow ourselves to think too far ahead. It’s Monza next week. We’re looking forward to it and hopefully can carry this form into that race.

Red Bull Racing Honda best pictures:

Scuderia Ferrari

 

Scuderia Ferrari leaves the 2022 Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix with third place courtesy of Charles Leclerc and an eighth with Carlos Sainz after a frustrating race. The F1-75’s race pace did not match the potential shown in qualifying compared to its closest rivals.

Difficult circumstances. A few events compromised the outcome of the race between Charles and Carlos. Leclerc was running in a solid second place in the early stages and made his second pit stop just before the Virtual Safety Car period caused by Yuki Tsunoda. That allowed both Mercedes drivers, who had pitted under the VSC, to get ahead of the Monegasque without having to overtake him on track. Towards the end of the race, the Safety Car caused by Valtteri Bottas put Charles in a position to attack again and, with his usual determination, he was able to secure his sixth podium finish of the season by overtaking Lewis Hamilton.

Trouble in the pit lane. Carlos Sainz had a worse time of it today, on the back foot right from his first pit stop. There was a late call to bring him in, and when he stopped, the left rear tyre was not ready. Carlos lost around nine seconds and thus several positions. He rejoined eleventh, after which he did well to move up the order as far as sixth place. During the Safety Car period after Bottas stopped, Carlos pitted again for Soft tyres, planning to go on the attack to the end. As he pulled away, he had to slow down to avoid some McLaren pit crew ahead of him. This meant the F1-75 was moving slowly so that as Fernando Alonso came up behind Carlos, he had to slow down so as not to hit the Ferrari. This incident was severely deemed to be an unsafe release, and Carlos was thus given a five-second penalty. He crossed the line in fifth place, but the penalty dropped him back to eighth.

On to Monza. The team now returns home, knowing it must work on its race performance. Next Sunday, the World Championship resumes with the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.

Charles Leclerc #16

We’re not particularly happy with P3 today after having started second, but we were just not fast enough. The first stint was really good on the Soft compound. I was quite confident, but things became more tricky on the Mediums, especially with Mercedes being so strong on the Hards.

We were unlucky with the Virtual Safety Car, but I don’t think it would have changed much for us. Our competitors seem to have improved their pace, especially in the race, and this is something we will be focusing on going forward.

We’re off to Monza next. Although it doesn’t look like it will be the strongest race for us on paper, we’re always extremely motivated going there. It’s our home race, and I can’t wait to see our Tifosi again.

Carlos Sainz #55

Today we had a very tough race, and things just didn’t go our way. The set-up we went for didn’t work as expected and after picking up some damage at the start with Hamilton we lacked a bit of pace overall.

Obviously, the late call for the first pit stop cost us a lot of race time, and afterwards, I got the penalty for an unsafe release, even though there was nothing else I could have done in that situation as I was trying to avoid hitting a McLaren mechanic in front of me. A tough one, but we’ll now focus on the next race at home in Monza.

Mattia Binotto, Team Principal & Managing Director

We cannot be satisfied with our race today. After performing well in qualifying, the car did not have the pace to win; unfortunately, that’s not the first time in recent races. We have to analyse everything in great detail because the difference in performance between qualifying and the race demonstrates that we did not manage to exploit all the potential in the car.
Now we go to Monza, where we can expect a warm welcome from our Tifosi. We know we can always count on their support, and it will be great to finally see the grandstands at the Autodromo packed out after the limitation on spectator numbers last year because of Covid. We will do our utmost to make our supporters proud of us, even if we already know it won’t be an easy race, given the performance level of our competitors.

Scuderia Ferrari best pictures:

Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team

 

George brought the W13 home in P2 and Lewis P4 after an action-packed race in Zandvoort amidst the orange smoke of the sell-out 2022 Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix crowd.

The team opted to start both drivers on the Medium tyre, in contrast to those ahead on the Softs, and the drivers managed their tyres well to extend the first stint and set up a one-stop strategy on the Hard. A VSC on lap 47 sparked a round of pit stops with the team taking the opportunity to pull off a smart double stack and switch the drivers to fresh Mediums. A safety car a few laps later brought VER in from the lead, so the team had a difficult choice with Lewis running P1 and George P2.

The team opted to keep Lewis out to retain track position and fight for the win while boxing George for the Soft tyre to consolidate at least P3. The Medium tyre proved to be too offset for Lewis, and he was passed by those behind on the Soft tyre, finishing P4 while George moved up to P2 – his highest finishing position for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team.

Lewis Hamilton

Today we were really challenged with the VSCs and Safety Cars. I think the strategy and the car had been so good up until that point; the pit stops were fantastic, the best I think we’ve had all year, and it was really geeing me up. Especially after such an up-and-down year, we’ve not had a win since Saudi Arabia last year. So, it was finally there, within our grasp, but of course, then the safety car really didn’t help. But the guys were really, really on it, we were all on it, and I was hopeful that we would get a 1-2 together as a team. But given how it played out after the final safety car and dropping back, I was just on the edge of breaking point with emotions and my apologies to the team because I don’t even remember what I said over the radio. I just lost it for a second. But I think they know that there is just so much passion, and I want to look at today as a glass half full – we came here struggling from the last race and were fighting against the Red Bulls today. We were quicker than most at many points. Without the safety car, I think we’d have been challenging them for the win at the end on the one-stop, which I don’t think the others could do. So many great things to take from this weekend – the car was finally working. If this can be the same in future races, we will continue to breathe down their necks, and we will get that win.

George Russell

It’s been an incredible reception here, a really special feeling for all of us drivers to come racing in Zandvoort and in Holland. As a team, we showed incredible pace today, I know the team result wasn’t quite what we hoped for, but this gives us a lot of confidence and a lot of faith going forwards. It’s incredible to see three different teams on the podium, and we, as Mercedes, are slowly getting closer to that top step, so let’s keep on pushing. Not an easy decision for the team to make with the final safety car – when you’re in front with track position, you’ve got a shot to go for the win, which is what we did. But this is what we as Mercedes are here to do, we’re here to win. And the 2000 people back in the UK, at Brackley and Brixworth, are all working on getting us that win, so today we took a decision to give us the best chance of that. Our qualifying performance yesterday probably cost us the most this weekend because if we were in the second row, I think we’d have been fighting even more for the win. But from race one in Bahrain, being second off, to this weekend and having the fastest race car is incredibly impressive, and everyone in the team should be very proud.

Toto Wolff

Zandvoort was a good track for us, and both drivers performed to the maximum today with a strong car. We had some tough decisions to take with the safety car towards the end. With Lewis ahead, you can do two things: you can either pit him, lose track position against Verstappen and leave George out – screwed. You can pit both, but you are settling for P2 and P3, and we agreed as a team this morning to fight for the win, so it was worth the risk. I feel for Lewis. It’s highly emotional, you are that close, bracing for the win, and then you are being eaten up. It’s clear that every emotion comes out, but as I always say, we are the dustbin for the driver in the car. Lewis and I were just speaking, and there are definitely more positives to take from this weekend, second and fourth. It’s annoying, but we had a good race car here, and that’s most important. You have got to take risks where we are. I’m confident we’ll get the win this season, and we are going to try the maximum. We are a bit closer today, and it is good fun in any case.

Mercedes-AMG F1 Team best pictures:

McLaren Racing

 

Hear from McLaren Formula 1 drivers Lando Norris, Daniel Ricciardo, and Team Principal Andreas Seidl after the 2022 Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix.

Lando Norris

Tough race, but I think it was a good one. We gave it our all. I think we had a decent pace. It’s just tough battling with both Alpines, they can play a lot more with the strategy and hold me up. That was tough, so I’m happy with how we did. P6 would have been the best we could have achieved anyway, so one position out. We lost some points to Alpine, but they’re getting more out of their car than us. Despite that, I’m happy with everything else. We’ll keep pushing and try to be ahead again next time.

Daniel Ricciardo

It was always going to be a tricky Sunday because of where we started and the nature of the track. The first few laps were not too bad. I think we made some places here and there but starting that far back, it’s hard to make a big impression. You need a big difference to make some moves and overtakes. In clear air, it felt like I had a little bit of pace to use – but it didn’t always seem to last long. So, obviously another challenging weekend. We look ahead to Monza, and I’ll try to bring back last year’s magic.

Andreas Seidl

Strong race for Lando this afternoon, finishing P7. At the end of the race, the Safety Car was a little unfortunate for him, and he had to make another stop to defend against cars doing the same. That cost us a position to Fernando [Alonso], who had fresher tyres and could go to the end. On Daniel’s side, it was always a difficult task from P17 to make up positions on this track, and unfortunately, no opportunities came his way to make any progress.

“The team worked very hard this weekend: here at the track, back home at the MTC, and our colleagues at Mercedes HPP. Our strategists had complex calls to make today, but they were good calls and the strategy team and pit crew worked well to determine and implement them. Two races down in this triple-header, and we go again in five days at Monza. We look forward to that – but well done to Zandvoort and the Dutch fans for putting on a great event with a truly sensational atmosphere.

McLaren Racing best pictures:

Alpine F1 Team

 

BWT Alpine F1 Team made it five double points finishes in a row as both drivers claimed solid points from the 2022 Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix, with Fernando Alonso finishing sixth and Esteban Ocon ninth at a packed-out Zandvoort.

By scoring ten points from today’s race, the team moves further ahead in fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship on 125 points.

Esteban made a brilliant start to the race as he moved up three positions on lap one, with Fernando holding his starting spot in the thirteenth.

The Spaniard managed to overtake both Alpha Tauris in successive laps in the early stages before pitting for Hards on lap 12. Esteban pitted for Hards on lap 19, with Fernando stringing together a solid stint to progress towards the points. Fernando stopped again on lap 47 under the VSC for Softs with back-to-back Fastest Laps heaping the pressure on Lando Norris in front. Esteban pitted under the full Safety Car nine laps later for Softs, which allowed him to gain control in his fight with Lance Stroll.

With Norris also pitting under the Safety Car, Fernando spent the closing stages of the race looking to close the gap to Carlos Sainz, who had a five-second penalty, while also defending from Norris. At the chequered flag, Fernando finished seventh, taking sixth as a result of Sainz’s penalty, for his tenth consecutive points score, with Esteban just missing out on the Ferrari’s punishment by 0.2secs to finish in ninth place.

Fernando Alonso

It was a good race for us today, finishing sixth and scoring more points in the standings. We lost a few places obviously at the start, but we made some ground back and stopped very early for the Hard tyre. The car’s pace was good, and we continued to progress. The only moment of the race where I felt we could relax a little bit was when we fitted the Softs, and everything seemed set for us, but then the Safety Car came out and changed everything. We had to fight hard until the last lap with those behind us on fresher tyres, and it was like a Qualifying session until the chequered flag. It’s a good result again for the team, and my tenth points finish in a row, so let’s keep this up next weekend in Italy!

Esteban Ocon

I’m pleased to score points today, and it was a nice recovery after disappointment in Qualifying on Saturday. We have also outscored McLaren again, which is positive in our fight in the Constructors’ Championship. On my side, I had a mega start and made up a few places in the early part of the race, which put us in a position to score points. There’s always more you can do, so we’ll assess the things we can improve for next time to come away with even more. Another race is just around the corner, and I’m already looking forward to Monza, a track that I love and one that will likely suit our car better. We will push on!

Otmar Szafnauer, Team Principal

We’re very pleased to extend our advantage in fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship by scoring ten points in Zandvoort today. It was always going to be a tough task to progress both of our cars from twelfth and thirteenth on the grid into the points, but we’ve achieved just that after a very strong race across the board. Our strategy was decisive, using our knowledge from Friday’s Practice about the Hard tyre, which allowed both cars to be in a position to score good points. Fernando drove another great race, holding off Lando [Norris] at the end, with Esteban too doing a fantastic job to finish in ninth place and bring home valuable points. We will look ahead to Monza next weekend, where we aim to conclude this triple header with other double points finishes. I can see no reason why that is not possible after two competitive weekends in Spa and here in the Netherlands. A great job by everyone on the team.

Alpine F1 Team best pictures:

Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN

 

Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN had a tough day in Zandvoort as Zhou Guanyu finished 16th and Valtteri Bottas retired from the 2022 Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix. A problematic weekend ended in disappointment in what was, for the neutral viewer, an incredibly thrilling afternoon of racing. The team will now return to action in next weekend’s Italian Grand Prix, the team’s home race.

Valtteri Bottas (car number 77)

It’s always disappointing to end a race ahead of time. I felt the car’s pace was better than yesterday’s. We had kept progressing, even though it would have still been challenging to score points. The battle in the midfield was quite good, and there was plenty of action, but then we had a technical issue, and our race was over. I am waiting for confirmation, but I think it was a power unit issue: there was no sign prior to that, everything was feeling OK, and I suddenly lost power. I could see some flames in the back, so now we’ll have to see what we find there.

Zhou Guanyu (car number 24)

It’s been quite a tough race today, particularly towards the end, as we got slowed down a lot by all the blue flags. The late safety car also did not play in our favour, as there wasn’t much time left, and we put on used softs, which didn’t make it easy to charge up. It’s been a challenging weekend overall for the team, we’ve been clearly lacking something compared to the rest of the midfield, so we will have to work hard in these few days: we need to make sure to improve ahead of Monza next week and for the rest of the season, to try and get back to where we were, performance-wise, during the first races of the year.

Frédéric Vasseur, Team Principal

It’s been a tough day at the end of a difficult weekend. We had been struggling to find pace but made some excellent improvements as we approached the race: unfortunately, we lost Valtteri for a suspected power unit issue, and Zhou’s race was compromised by a penalty for speeding in the pit lane. With the midfield as close as it is, anything but a perfect race means you’re missing out on the points, and this is precisely what happened. It’s been disappointing, but we have Monza next week, and hopefully, we will be able to put this one behind us and do well in front of that crowd. It’s a home race for us and our title partners, and we want to have a good one to get back on track.

Alfa Romeo F1 Team best pictures:

Haas F1 Team

 

Haas F1 Team finished with Mick Schumacher 13th and Kevin Magnussen 15th at the 2022 Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix, held Sunday at Circuit Zandvoort.

Schumacher started from eighth on the grid on Pirelli P Zero Yellow mediums and relinquished a couple of positions before holding onto a spot inside the top 10.

Schumacher came in on lap 13 for the second set of medium tires, though unfortunately, a slow stop – due to a front jack release issue delayed the German before he pitted later, taking on White hard rubber on lap 34. Schumacher came in under the virtual safety car on lap 48 to take on Red soft tires and raced to the checkered to classify 13th.

Magnussen took the start from 18th place, also on mediums, and initially made gains to complete the opening lap in the 15th spot. However, a comprehensive moment through turn 2 pushed the Dane off-track, and he skated through the gravel, making contact with the wall, before re-joining at the back of the field.

From there, Magnussen also ran a three-stop strategy, coming in on lap 14 for mediums, lap 35 for hards and finally on lap 48 for softs. Magnussen chased Aston Martin driver Sebastian Vettel to the finish, coming home 15th.

Up front, World Champion Max Verstappen registered his 10th victory of the season for Red Bull Racing, ahead of Mercedes AMG’s George Russell and Scuderia Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

Haas F1 Team holds seventh place in the Constructors’ Championship with 34 points.

Kevin Magnussen, Driver No. 20

It was not good when I hit the wall in the race, but it was my mistake. I tried too hard, lost the rear, went off and hit the wall, came back, and I was able to continue. I tried my best to come back, but I spent a long time trying to just get back up to the field but managed to make up a few positions and finish P15. It was a bit of a wasted weekend, so I hope we do better next time.

Mick Schumacher, Driver No. 47

We didn’t have the most fabulous pit stops – I think we had a problem with the front jack not coming down, so that brought us out of contention for points this weekend. Nonetheless, it was great being here, and I had a lot of fun even though I was at the wrong end of the field. Battling with Sebastian is always great. These things happen, and we’re now looking ahead at scoring points in the next few races.

Guenther Steiner, Team Principal, Haas F1 Team

It wasn’t the race we wanted to have today. Kevin lost a lot of positions on lap 2 when he went off. Mick was fighting in the points-paying positions, but on his pit stop, we had an issue with the front jack which didn’t come down, so we need to look into what it was. Catching up from there is difficult – we lost too many positions, overtaking is very difficult here, and, in the end, we made it up to P13 and P15. Having been P18 and P19 at some stage, we didn’t give up, but it was difficult to catch up because you have to apply different strategies, and we couldn’t get back into the points.

Haas F1 Team best pictures:

Scuderia AlphaTauri

 

It was a tough day for Scuderia AlphaTauri after a promising qualifying session on Saturday. Both drivers lost positions at the start, and then Yuki Tsunoda suffered a car malfunction late in the race that resulted in a DNF, while Pierre Gasly just missed the points-scoring positions in 11th.

Pierre Gasly

Finishing P11 is never a great feeling, we tried our best to make it into the points, but I don’t think we quite had the pace to make it possible today. Ultimately, we lack a little performance compared to the other cars around us. We lost some time in the first stint and struggled on the Mediums in traffic. I think there are still some positives to take away from this weekend. Though we knew this would be a track we would struggle on, the pace on the Hards this afternoon looked competitive. We’re now heading to Monza for the last of the European races, where I hope we’ll be able to come back stronger.

Yuki Tsunoda

It’s been a disappointing day, as we were hoping to finish in the points heading into the race, and our pace looked quite good. We dropped back a few places at the start of the race but were slowly making our way forward again and were optimistic we could finish in the top 10. Unfortunately, after I stopped for the Hards, I felt there was an issue with the car. The team could not see anything at that stage, so they called me in to change the tyres. However, when I went back out, I could still feel something was wrong, which the team confirmed by radio, and we had to retire the car.

Claudio Balestri (Chief Engineer – Vehicle Performance)

Today, the target was to score points; unfortunately, we didn’t manage that. We started with both cars on Softs, knowing we needed to manage the tyres carefully. In the fight at the first lap, we lost a few positions to Ocon and Stroll, so for most of the first stint, we were in P11 with Yuki and P12 with Pierre. Pierre ran in traffic for 10 laps and therefore suffered more tyre degradation, meaning he also lost a position to Alonso, so after a few laps, we called him in to fit the Mediums.

We then did the same with Yuki for his second stint. In this middle part of the race, with both cars on Mediums, we were not able to keep the pace of the two Alpines in front. We could see the Hard compound was very competitive on the other cars around us, so we decided to stop Gasly and fit the Hards, whilst we let Yuki continue on the Mediums for a more extended second stint.

Having seen that the compound was working well, we decided to also pit Yuki for them. After the pit stop, he reported something strange at the rear of the car, we called him in again to change the tyres and immediately after, we had a car failure. This is currently under investigation within the team. At the end of the race, when the Safety Car was deployed, due to Bottas stopping on track at the end of the main straight, we decided to stay out to unlap Pierre and then we pitted the lap after, fitting Options. When the Safety Car came in, Pierre was in P11, just behind Stroll, both on the exact tyre, but the Aston Martin was very fast in the last corner, and we could not get past him to enter into the points. Now we need to switch our thoughts to preparing for the next Monza race.

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Aston Martin Formula One Team

 

Lance held onto a points-paying position in the 2022 Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix despite Safety Car timing going against him, while Sebastian climbed five positions from his starting spot.

What appeared to be a two-stop race became a three-stopper for most drivers when two late interruptions turned the strategy on its head, which adversely affected Lance’s and Sebastian’s race.

Lance Stroll

Overall, it has been a positive weekend in terms of performance, but we were a little bit unlucky today with how things played out and how that affected our strategy.

The timing of the Safety Car gave the Alpines and [Lando] Norris the advantage: without that, we could have been fighting for seventh.

Our pace was strong all weekend, I felt really confident in the car, and we were more competitive. That is really encouraging for the coming races.

It has been a significant push by the team back at the factory to make our car quicker, so hopefully, this is the start of a solid run-through to the end of the season.

Sebastian Vettel

We did not have a great race pace – but we probably could have earned a better result if we had not started so far back. We stopped early to try and undercut the cars ahead.

That strategy would have worked, but that first pitstop was really slow – I lost a lot of time to Zhou [Guanyu], Pierre [Gasly], Alex [Albon], Mick [Schumacher], and I was very close to Daniel [Ricciardo].

I enjoyed my battle with Mick – but this race was not a highlight for either of us. Then I got a five-second penalty for ignoring blue flags when I was being passed by Lewis [Hamilton], but it did not really make much difference to my race.

A tough day, where making progress was always going to be difficult – but it is what it is.

Mike Krack, Team Principal

Lance drove very well to score a hard-earned point this afternoon, managing his tyres throughout a tricky Soft-Medium-Hard-Soft three-stop race. The timing of the Safety Car did not help Lance’s race, but a point is a point.

Sebastian moved up from his P19 grid slot to a P14 finish, and he was never likely to be able to make better progress than that on a circuit such as this one, on which overtaking is difficult.

From here, we go on to Monza, one of the great circuits, but before we leave Zandvoort, I would like to pay tribute to the organisers, who managed the race weekend very well, and the Dutch fans, whose enthusiasm made for a fantastic carnival atmosphere.

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Williams Racing

 

In a 2022 Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix that saw a late Safety Car cause a frantic final few laps, Alex Albon pushed forwards to reach P12, and Nicholas Latifi crossed the line at P18.

Alex Albon

I think coming into today, we didn’t have high expectations, so I think we’ve proven we’re not too far away from the points. We didn’t expect much from the high downforce circuit, so it’s positive, and I think going forward, we won’t be so scared of these types of circuits and can focus on fighting for points. I was happy with the car, despite just lacking a bit of lap time. There’s still a little to find, but we can work on this and look at what we can do as we’re fine-tuning the package and know its limitations. We didn’t score points, but it’s a good job.

Nicholas Latifi

It was just a race to forget, really. We’ve been struggling with the pace the whole weekend, and it’s pretty confusing to me as to why. Due to the issue in qualifying, we didn’t really get the chance to see where we would have been on pace, so one to learn from.

Dave Robson, Head of Vehicle Performance:

I think we can be pretty pleased with how we executed the race today. There was a vast range of valid strategies, with all three compounds offering potentially valuable trades in the overcast conditions.

The Safety Car periods mixed things up a little and allowed teams to change from their base strategies. We were pretty comfortable on the Medium tyre and looked to be finding a good rhythm on the Hard before the Safety Car gave us the opportunity to switch Alex to the Soft. Ultimately, we couldn’t score any points, and the Safety Car didn’t help our cause today as it allowed Gasly a free tyre change. However, we were able to beat the Alfa Romeo and Haas cars as well as a McLaren and an Aston Martin.

It was a shame to finish behind Pierre for the second weekend in a row, but he had good pace and qualified four places ahead of Alex. Hopefully, we can turn the tables on him next weekend!

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