The 15th round of the 2022 F1 season took place in the Netherlands. We outline the race in our report F1 Review Holland 2022.

Zandvoort initially hosted the Dutch F1 Grand Prix from 1950 to 1985. The Grand Prix in 1985 saw Niki Lauda keep McLaren teammate and archrival Alain Prost at bay to take his 25th and final Grand Prix victory. The Dutch had to wait 36 years for the circus to return.

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It is the venue that saw Gilles Villeneuve famously pass Alan Jones into Tarzan corner (renamed Turn 1) in 1979. His left rear tyre exploded later in the race, forcing the Canadian to spin his Ferrari to a halt. Villeneuve demonstrated his never-say-die attitude by reversing his Ferrari from the kitty litter and charging to the pits for repairs. The wheel hub disintegrated and the Canadian drove his bucking machine into the pits, the suspension dragging behind his mount. Ferrari won twice in the 1980’s (Pironi in ’82; Arnoux in ’83), as did McLaren (Prost in ’84). Since the venue’s return to the calendar in 2021, however, it’s all about local hero Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing).

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Quick Fire

The circuit is regarded as small (4,3 km), narrow, but with some banked corners. Modern F1 racers can produce a race lap at about 1 min 15 seconds. The driver is kept busy behind the wheel with high-speed switchbacks and the long banked corners.

Dutch hearts were joyful as local hero Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) delivered a faultless performance on home turf. The championship leader surged to another commanding victory from pole position. He briefly lost the lead to Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) when he pitted under the safety car on lap 59.

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He easily retook the lead at the restart and cantered to the chequered flag for the tenth time in 2022. Teammate Sergio Perez harried Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) for position in the closing stages and struggled to an eventual fifth position. Interestingly, the Mexican ran over a Ferrari air gun in his first pit stop, which will be investigated postrace. In Indycar racing, a driver is penalised with a drive-through for such a transgression. What was the air gun doing there, though? It appeared it was not in use by the Ferrari mechanics…

Shaping Up

Mercedes had a good day in the office until the safety car period. They initially switched their drivers to hard rubber, after both cars headed the field for the first time in 2022. They blotted their copybook in the safety car period, when they opted not to box Hamilton, who was on medium rubber, and the Englishman paid the price for it. Teammate George Russell sailed past into second position, with Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) passing Hamilton soon afterwards. Russell finished a career-best second, while Hamilton had to be content with fourth place.

Bungled, again

Ferrari were not in contention for victory on race day, despite their competitiveness in qualifying. Charles Leclerc ran strongly in second position on an initial two-stop strategy. That changed when the field scrabbled to pit in the virtual safety car and safety car periods. Leclerc showed enough speed to finish on the podium. Sainz did not have the speed of his teammate and struggled in the race, along with a slow pit stop. To add insult to injury, he was penalised five seconds for unsafe release from the pits under the safety car. The Spaniard was classified eighth at the finish.

Old Dog

Fernando Alonso (Alpine) chased Perez home in sixth position who, in turn, was closely followed by Lando Norris (McLaren-Mercedes). Esteban Ocon (Alpine) will feel a little aggrieved with ninth place, while Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) finished tenth. There were two retirements on the day. Yuki Tsunoda (Alpha Tauri) stopped on lap 48 with something broken in the rear, bringing out the Virtual Safety Car. Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo-Ferrari) ground to a halt at the bottom of the main straight on lap 55. The stranded racer saw the Safety Car introduced, resulting in a flurry in the pits. 

Commanding Lead

Verstappen leads the championship by 109 points, ahead of Leclerc and Perez who are tied in second place. There are still 182 points to be had. Russell is 13 points adrift in fourth position, while also 13 points ahead of Sainz.

Red Bull Racing continues to dominate the constructors standings, 125 points clear of Ferrari. The Italian marque, in turn, is only 30 points ahead of Mercedes. There is a huge points gap of 221 over Alpine in fourth place, while McLaren lies a further 24 points behind.

Temple of Speed

The 16th round of the F1 world championship is less than a week away, at Monza, Italy, as the third event of the European triple-header. Monza needs no introduction to fans and the Tifosi will be praying for a Ferrari victory. One wonders whether Ferrari will be able to introduce a low-drag upgrade to challenge the might of Red Bull. It seems unlikely.