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Formula 1 Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2023, Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort, The Netherlands. Image credit to Mark Thompson/Getty Images. 2024 Dutch GP Preview, Dutch Grand Prix Preview, 2024 F1 Dutch Preview.
2024 Dutch GP Preview – After George Russell was disqualified for having an underweight car, giving victory to Mercedes team-mate Sir Lewis Hamilton in Belgium, round 15 of the 2024 FIA Formula One World Championship returns to the famous Circuit Zandvoort in Zandvoort, North Holland, Netherlands this weekend following the sport’s traditional summer break for the Formula 1 Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024. This is the 36th Dutch GP and will be the 34th time that Circuit Zandvoort will host the Dutch Grand Prix. This is the first of a double-header alongside the Italian Grand Prix.
2024 Dutch GP Preview – A look at the Circuit Zandvoort
Circuit Zandvoort is a permanent motor racing facility located in the dunes north of Zandvoort, Netherlands near the North Sea coast-line. There were minor races on a street circuit in the town in the 1930’s, but the German invasion of the Netherlands proved to be a whisker of luck for the locals. In a bid to stop his townspeople from being sent to Germany to work, legend says the Mayor of Zandvoort influenced the Germans to allow them to create a straight road through the dunes down, which the Germans could hold celebratory parades once they achieved victory. This was also later linked to other roads, which were used to get to coastal defence positions.
After the war, some of these roads were widened and joined together and a racing circuit was made, not as legend says by John Hugenholtz, but by a group of officials from the Royal Dutch Motorcycle Association, with input from Bentley Boy Sammy Davis, who won the 1927 24 Heures Du Mans. The first event was in 1948, named the Zandvoort Grand Prix. The race by Thailand’s Prince Bira in a Maserati. The next two events were won by Louis Rosier in the year’s 1950 and 1951. 1952 was the year the Dutch Grand Prix became part of the third Formula 1 World Championship season; this and the next year’s Grands Prix were won by Ferrari’s Alberto Ascari. The 1954 event was not held due to a lack of money, and 1955 saw once more Mercedes-Benz ‘s dominance, with legend’s Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss flying; Moss followed Fangio closely all the way to the finish. The 1956 and 1957 Grands Prix were also cancelled due to a lack of money, which indirectly was caused by the Suez Crisis of 1956–1957. The 1958 Dutch Grand Prix was won by Vanwall’s Moss. 1959’s event saw Jo Bonnier win his only Grand Prix and in 1960 saw Dan Gurney suffer an accident and a spectator was killed; the race was won by the legendary Jack Brabham in his Cooper.
The Dutch Grands Prix from 1963 to 1965 saw Jim Clark score a hattrick of victories, and 1967 saw the rise of the famous Lotus 49 featuring its brand-new Ford-Cosworth DFV engine. The DFV won on its debut with Clark behind the wheel; this naturally aspirated V8 engine became the most successful and widely used engine amongst the privateer outfits until the 1985 season. The 1970 Championship season, however, saw the 49’s successor, the 72 (with its design just as advanced as the 49 was three years earlier) dominate comprehensively with Jochen Rindt piloting.
Tragedy hit, when Piers Courage, behind the wheel of a Frank Williams entry, crashed heavily near the high-speed Tunnel Oost corner after a wheel came off and hit the Briton on the head, which killed him. The car, with Courage still inside it, then caught fire and burned to the ground. The 1971 Grand Prix saw Jacky Ickx clinch the victory in a Ferrari after an intense fight with Mexican Pedro Rodriguez in a BRM in torrential wet conditions. There was no event in 1972. It was at first on that season’s calendar, but the drivers rejected racing at Zandvoort, due to the facilities and circuit conditions being out-of-date with Grand Prix racing during that period.
Zandvoort was extensively modified during its absence from the Formula One World Championship calendar. It was lined with Armco barriers and cars were protected from the track-side obstacles and sand dunes. A new pit was built, and the track also saw a chicane placed just before Bosuit, the quick high-speed corner that went onto the pit-straight. For the 1973 event, in a celebration of the efforts made, there was a great atmosphere that weekend and everyone was ecstatic, especially the organisers. But in a cruel twist, that Grand Prix was to be yet another bad hit on Zandvoort’s history and reputation. In an event that was said to be one of the most well-organised Grands Prix, it was actually disorganised, and a lack of clear communication would be responsible for what was to come.
On the eighth lap of the Grand Prix, Roger Williamson (competing in his second race) suffered a heavy crash near Tunnel Oost and his car, whilst scraping along the tarmac caught fire. Williamson was thankfully uninjured during the crash, but time was running out and he could not break free from the car. Williamson’s fellow countryman David Purley parked it alongside, crossed the circuit and sprinted over to the burning March. Purley attempted to turn the car upright. There appeared to be some time to right the car and get Williamson out, but as hard as Purley tried, he was unable to do it all by himself, and the marshals, who were not wearing flame-retardant overalls, were unable and not willing to help because of the intense heat. Race control assumed that Purley’s car that had crashed, and that the Briton escaped unscathed. The majority of drivers who saw Purley waving at them to stop assumed that he was trying to put out a fire from his own car, having safely gotten out of it, and did not know a second driver was involved. As a result, the Grand Prix continued, whilst Purley tried hard to save Williamson’s life. Due to race officials standing around doing nothing to help and hinder the situation (by throwing away the fire extinguisher that Purely was using over the Armco barriers and down the slope) this did not work as Williamson’s car burned, and Williamson succumbed due to asphyxiation. Purley was later given the George Medal for his actions in trying to save Williamson’s life. The event was won by Tyrrell driver Jackie Stewart (who broke fellow Scot Jim Clark’s record for the most career victories that weekend) and his French teammate Francois Cevert came home in 2nd place, but no one celebrated; it was one of the darkest moments in the history of Formula One.
The 1974 Grand Prix saw the re-emergence of Ferrari dominate with legend Niki Lauda scoring the victory; and 1975 saw James Hunt claim his maiden Formula One race win for Hesketh. 1976 saw Hunt win once more whilst Lauda was recovering from his horrific crash at the Nürburgring Nordschleife. The 1977 even was remembered for an incident between Hunt and Mario Andretti. Andretti attempted to pass Hunt at the famous Tarzan corner; the two cars tangled, and both were forced to retire from the race. Andretti won the 1978 event, his last Grand Prix victory. 1979 saw a track change to slow cars going into Tunnel Oost, there was a fast temporary chicane put in place there. Canadian Gilles Villeneuve crashed there, whilst fighting aggressively with Alan Jones and suffered left-rear suspension damage. But the Ferrari continued; but on the following tour, he once again went off again at Tarzan corner. Refusing to wave the white flag, Villeneuve, shocked many, put the Ferrari into reverse gear and piloted his 312t4 racer out of the run-off area full of mud and back onto the track. At halfway distance, the 312t4’s left rear rim and wheel along with the suspension shattered and was being dragged by the car as it continued on, which made the Ferrari almost impossible to drive. Villeneuve, displaying his now famous car control, made his way back to the pits without crashing or going off the circuit and retired from the Grand Prix, with Jones taking the victory. The 1980 race saw the chicane removed and swapped with a slower chicane before the Tunnel Oost. 1981’s Grand Prix saw an intense battle between Alain Prost driving a Renault and Jones in his Williams, with Prost coming out as the winner. The 1982 Grand Prix was won by Ferrari’s Didier Pironi, his fellow French-compatriot Rene Arnoux suffered a horrific crash at the end of the main-straight going into Tarzan corner; with his ground-effect Renault’s front suspension failing and the Frenchman went head-first into the barriers, thankfully he was okay. The 1983 race saw a battle between title rivals Prost and Nelson Piquet. Prost tried to overtake Piquet at Tarzan, but the Frenchman hit Piquet off, and Prost crashed afterwards. The 1985 event saw Lauda take his 25th and final Grand Prix victory whilst fending off his fast-charging McLaren team-mate Prost near the end of proceedings.
1985 was the Dutch Grand Prix’s final running, as the company that ran the Zandvoort circuit (CENAV) went out of business, marking the end of the iconic old Zandvoort track. The track, owned by the Zandvoort municipality, was not used for some time and part of the grounds and half of the circuit was sold to Vendorado in 1987, a bungalow park developer during that time. The circuit was eventually re-designed and is still used for other motorsport categories.
Before in 2019, the announcement came that Formula 1 would return to Zandvoort in 2020, after a 35-year hiatus from the sport. The coronavirus plague made it 36 years and a 2021 date for its event.
The Circuit Zandvoort was modernised in time for Formula One’s return – including increasing its banking angle at the iconic Tarzan corner to an Indianapolis Motor Speedway style trumping it 18 degrees with the circuit being undulating and rollercoaster like.
The current Grand Prix circuit layout is 4.296 kilometres (2.646 miles) in length and runs in a clockwise direction.
Race distance is 306.648 kilometres (190.542 miles) in length with 72 laps in total and 14 corners.
Seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton holds the fastest lap record at the Circuit Zandvoort set at the 2021 event with a 1:11.097 in his Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 W12 E Performance racer.
Jim Clark holds the record for most Dutch Grand Prix victories with four to his name.
Scuderia Ferrari is the most successful constructor at the Dutch Grand Prix with nine victories.
2024 Dutch GP Preview – Onboard Pole Position Lap of the Circuit Zandvoort
Here is the onboard pole position lap from last year’s event set by home-favourite Max Verstappen in his Red Bull Racing-Honda RB19. The reigning world champion’s effort was a solid 1:10.567. You can watch the onboard right here at the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCn1xbVjdW8
2024 Dutch GP Preview – The Last Five Winners
2023: Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing. 2022: Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing. 2021: Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing. 1986-2020: Not Held. 1985: Niki Lauda, McLaren-TAG. 1984: Alain Prost, McLaren-TAG.
2024 Dutch GP Preview – Tyres
Pirelli will be bringing with them to the Circuit Zandvoort, the white-branded C1 Hard compounds, the yellow-marked C2 Mediums and the red side-walled C3 Soft rubber along with the green-marked Intermediates and blue-banded Full Wet compounds in-case of rain.
All drivers will have eight sets of the C3 red side-walled Softs, three sets of the yellow C2 Mediums and two sets of the white C1 Hard rubber.
2024 Dutch GP Preview – DRS Zones
There will be two DRS zones at Circuit Zandvoort with the first detection point just before turn ten with the first activation zone at the exit of turn ten. The second detection point is just before the penultimate corner turn 13 with the second activation zone at the exit of the final corner turn 14.
2024 Dutch GP Preview – Pitlane Speed Limits
Pitlane speed limits will be 80km/h during practice, qualifying and the race.
ICYMI: – Hamilton takes Belgian GP victory as Russell suffers DQ
Hamilton Belgian GP Victory – George Russell was disqualified from the Belgian GP after his F1 W15 entry had been found underweight following the race, meaning that Mercedes team-mate Sir Lewis Hamilton takes the victory and the 105th of his career as McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charlea Leclerc completed the top three.
Russell had scored victory making a one-stop strategy work to perfection, which saw him manage his C2 white side-walled harder compound to the chequered flag and just held off Hamilton by 0.526 seconds.
However, the FIA Technical Delegate Report after the race stated that, whilst the F1 W15 had initially been found to be compliant with the minimum weight of 798kg, 2.8 litres of fuel was then removed.
The report then said: “The car was not fully drained according to the draining procedure submitted by the team in their legality documents as TR Article 6.5.2 is fulfilled. The car was weighed again on the FIA inside and outside scales and the weight was 796.5 kg. The calibration of the outside and inside scales was confirmed and witnessed by the competitor. As this is 1.5 kg below the minimum weight requested in TR Article 4.1, which also has to be respected at all times during the competition, I am referring this matter to the stewards for their consideration.”
After being sent to the stewards, it was confirmed that Russell was disqualified from the Grand Prix, thus Hamilton was promoted as race winner, with Piastri and Leclerc moving up to second and third.
When the 44-lap Belgian GP began, pole-sitter Leclerc gets a good run off the line as Hamilton also behind him and goes alongside Perez and made a move on the inside to take second place off the Mexican.
Through Eau Rouge/Raidillon and down the Kemmel Straight both Hamilton and Perez ran wheel-to-wheel but the former managed to cover the latter as Russell ran wide through Les Combes.
At the beginning of lap two, Leclerc held a 0.600 second lead over Hamilton with Perez third, Piastri fourth, Russell fifth as Norris also attempted to pass Sainz at Les Combes but ran wide and had to give the place back to the Spaniard.
On tour three, Leclerc was under intense pressure from second-placed-Hamilton as the Mercedes driver got right in DRS range.
And with a good exit out of La Source, Hamilton remained in the slip-stream and going through the Eau Rouge/Raidillon complex and with DRS, the Mercedes driver made his way past Leclerc to move up into the lead as further back Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu suffered a loss of power.
On the fourth lap, Hamilton was up 1.042 seconds over Leclerc with Perez third, Piastri fourth, Russell fifth, Sainz sixth, Norris seventh as world champion Max Verstappen completed the top eight.
Meanwhile Zhou got his C44 back running, and his power issue resolved.
Out-front on the sixth lap, Hamilton got out of DRS range from Leclerc and holding a 1.231 second lead over the Monegasque driver.
There was a DRS train starting to form behind Perez Piastri, Russell, Sainz, Norris and Verstappen all within range of each other as Zhou became the first retiree of the race due to a hydraulics issue.
After Hulkenberg was the first to pit on lap eight for hards, the Williams duo of Albon and Sargeant and RB’s Daniel Ricciardo all came in for a set of mediums a tour later and emerged in 16th, 17th and 19th respectively.
On lap 10, Hamilton’s lead increased to 2.118 seconds over Leclerc with Perez third, Piastri fourth, Russell fifth, Sainz sixth, Norris seventh as Verstappen rounded out the top eight runners.
Alpine’s Pierre Gasly also came in for his stop to take on a set of hards and came out in 18th behind Albon, Ricciardo and Hulkenberg.
A tour later, both Russell and Verstappen came in from seventh and eighth for a set of hards and emerged in 13th and 14th behind RB Yuki Tsunoda as both attempt the undercut on Sainz and Norris respectively.
Russell made short work of Tsunoda passing him on the Kemmel Straight.
Race leader Hamilton, Perez and Piastri all pitted on lap 12 and came out in sixth, eighth and ninth respectively as the latter managed to cover Russell whilst Leclerc has been called to box.
Leclerc came in on lap 13 as Sainz moves up into the lead having started on the harder compound with Norris following through in second.
Leclerc slots in fifth place behind Hamilton as Piastri with DRS assistance flew past Perez down the Kemmel Straight to jump into sixth place meanwhile a bit further back, Verstappen finally made his way ahead of Magnussen and Tsunoda to move into eighth place.
On the 14th tour Alonso stopped from third for his set of the C2 white-marked tyre and came out in 13th place.
On lap 15, the yet-to-pit Sainz was 3.5 seconds ahead of Norris, with Hamilton third, Leclerc fourth, Piastri fifth, Perez sixth, Russell seventh as Verstappen completed the top eight.
Norris pitted a tour later from second for his fresh set of the harder tyre and came out in eighth place behind Verstappen.
Meanwhile race leader Sainz suffered a snap of oversteer and dipped his left wheels into the gravel trap at Campus allowing the gap to drop a little to second-placed Hamilton.
On lap 18, the battle for fifth, sixth and seventh between Perez, Russell and Verstappen was continuing to intensify.
On the 20th lap, Sainz’s gap out-front to Hamilton was down to 2.5 seconds with Leclerc third, Piastri fourth, Perez fifth and Russell sixth in the order.
Sainz finally made his stop from the lead on lap 21 for his fresh set of the C3 yellow-marked mediums and came out in eighth behind Norris.
Russell with DRS range in the battle for fourth made his move on the Kemmel Straight down the inside to get in-front of Perez before reaching Les Combes.
On half race distance, Perez is told to box as Verstappen takes fifth place to chase down Russell.
Perez on his fresh set of the C2 hards, emerged in eighth place behind Sainz.
At the midway point, Hamilton’s lead over Leclerc was 2.056 seconds with Piastri a further 2.796 adrift in third, Russell fourth, Verstappen fifth, Norris right behind the Dutchman in sixth, Sainz seventh as Perez completed the top eight.
On the 23rd tour Norris had a close look on Verstappen down the Kemmel Straight with DRS assistance, but the latter covered the former into Les Combes.
A lap later, Norris was a bit further back from the Dutchman after running deep at the Chicane before the main-straight.
With 18 tours remaining, second-placed-Leclerc came in for his second fresh set of the C2 hards and came out in seventh place behind Ferrari team-mate Sainz as the Monegasque driver attempts the undercut on race leader Hamilton.
The Monegasque driver suffered a slow 3.4 second stop after a short delay putting on the rear left tyre.
A lap later, race leader Hamilton reacted to Leclerc’s stop and came in for a set of hards and with a 2.4 second stop emerged ahead of the Ferrari driver in sixth place, but behind the other SF-24 entry of Sainz.
Meanwhile on lap 29, Sainz was told to box from fifth as Verstappen also stopped and both the latter and former emerged in seventh and eighth on both the hards and mediums respectively.
Third-placed Norris was called in with 15 laps remaining for another set of the harder compound and came out in seventh place covering Sainz.
Perez also released Verstappen into fifth place as race leader Piastri comes in for his fresh set of the harder rubber and came out ahead of Verstappen, Perez and Norris.
Norris with DRS assistance flew past Perez down the Kemmel Straight to jump into sixth place.
Russell was asked by his team if he wanted to remain out and attempt a one-stop strategy to which he replied: “Yes.” As the Briton held a 6.03 second lead over Mercedes team-mate Hamilton.
In the fight for fifth Verstappen asked to his team: “Lando is pushing, tell me what you want to do?” As Giampiero Lambiase responded: “We are happy for you to push.”
With ten laps remaining Russell’s lead was at 5.743 seconds over Hamilton with Leclerc holding third, Piastri right in DRS range behind the Ferrari in fourth, Verstappen fifth as Norris was close to DRS range of the Dutchman in sixth.
In the battle for third, Piastri with DRS assistance had a look on the outside of Leclerc at the Kemmel Straight as the former covered the latter into Les Combes.
A tour later, Piastri is much closer to Leclerc and through the Eau Rouge and Raidillon complex with DRS assistance made a move around the outside of the Ferrari and got ahead into Les Combes and Malmedy to snatch third place.
The gap between Piastri and Hamilton was sitting at 5.382 seconds as race leader Russell’s gap to his Mercedes team-mate was at 2.850 seconds.
On lap 39 in the battle for seventh, Sainz with DRS assistance made a pass around the outside of Perez at Les Combes to jump into the position.
With five tours remaining, Russell’s lead to team-mate Hamilton was down to 1.223 seconds with Piastri a further 4.728 seconds in third, Leclerc fourth, Verstappen and Norris both right behind in fifth and sixth respectively.
On lap 41, Hamilton was in DRS range of his race leading team-mate and Peter Bonnington told the Briton that they were both “free-to-race.”
Hamilton’s tyres was 14 laps younger compared to team-mate Russell and with DRS assistance on the Kemmel Straight had a look on the other F1 W15 entry but could not find a way through.
On the penultimate lap both Russell and Hamilton ran deep into La Source as Piastri brought the gap down to 1.342 seconds.
The final lap saw Hamilton suffer a lock up into La Source and it brought Piastri into DRS range, Russell managed to have enough of a gap to keep his fellow-British compatriot Hamilton behind.
Russell had crossed the line to clinch the Belgian GP victory and lead home a Mercedes one-two finish 0.526 seconds over team-mate Hamilton as Piastri completed the top three before the disqualification was given to the former.
Hamilton thus took his 105th-career win and ahead of Piastri as Leclerc rounded out the top three.
Verstappen and Norris settled for fourth and fifth respectively.
Sainz took sixth as Perez came home seventh with the fastest lap bonus point.
Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon finished the Grand Prix eighth and ninth as RB’s Ricciardo completed the top ten.
Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll came 11th in the classification and Williams’ Albon placed 12th in the order.
Alpine’s Pierre Gasly was 13th and ahead of MoneyGram Haas F1 Team’s Kevin Magnussen who took 14th and Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas who crossed the line 15th.
RB’s Yuki Tsunoda, Williams’ Logan Sargeant and the other Haas VF-24 entry of Nico Hulkenberg finished at the rear.
2024 Dutch GP Preview – The Situation
The thrilling 2024 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season returns this weekend after the traditional summer break for the Dutch GP at Zandvoort.
Max Verstappen holds a solid 78 point lead in the World Driver’s Championship standings but arrives at his home Grand Prix on a dry run of four races without a victory.
The Dutchman remains a clear favourite to retain his world title crown but his Red Bull team’s dominance of the past couple of years appears to be a thing of the past as rivals McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari all having taken multiple wins this campaign.
McLaren’s Lando Norris – Verstappen’s closest title challenger – must make a huge charge to the final stretch of the season if he is to increase pressure on his rival, who will have the passionate backing of his loyal Orange Army out in force at Zandvoort.
Whether or not Norris can take the fight to Verstappen, the fight in the World Constructor’s Championship looks to highly go down to the wire with McLaren having cut Red Bull’s gap to 42 points.
However, both will be closely watching the Silver Arrows, who have won three of the last four Grands Prix before the summer break after finally appearing to get to grips with the design regulations that have caused them issues severely since being introduced in 2022.
A rejuvenated Sir Lewis Hamilton has scored the last two of those victories and will no doubt be eager to push for a strong finish to his time with Mercedes ahead of his move to Ferrari at the end of the campaign.
The F1 Academy season also continues this weekend in Zandvoort, with British driver Abbi Pulling holding a 66 point-advantage at the top of the driver’s standings going into the fourth of seventh rounds in the all-female championship.
Verstappen heads to his home race at Zandvoort sitting on top of the World Driver’s Championship with 277 points and a 78-point advantage over Lando Norris who is second on 199 points while Charles Leclerc is a further 100 points behind the Dutchman in third on 177 points.
Oracle Red Bull Racing comes to the Netherlands on top of the Constructors Championship with 408 points and a 42-point lead over nearest rivals McLaren Formula 1 Team who are second on 366 points whilst Scuderia Ferrari are a further 63 points behind the Milton Keynes based-squad in third place on 345 points.
2024 Dutch GP Preview – F1 Quickfire News
- Audi made huge signings for their F1 project with Jonathan Wheatley becoming Team Principal and Mattia Binotto as their Chief Operating Officer and Chief Technical Officer (COO & CTO).
- McLaren have extended the contract of Andrea Stella to continue on as their Team Principal.
- BWT Alpine F1 Team confirmed the signing of Oliver Oakes as their new Team Principal.
- Automobile Club of Rwanda president Christian Gakwaya has confirmed the African nation is interested in hosing a Formula One Grand Prix. Formula 1 chiefs have scheduled talks to meet with Rwanda representatives next month.
The Formula 1 Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024 weekend begins Friday August 23 with Free Practice 1 and 2, followed by Free Practice 3 and Qualifying Saturday August 24 and the 72 lap Race Sunday August 25.
