Following a three-week summer time break, the Formula One subject is about to assemble at Zandvoort this weekend for the Dutch Grand Prix. F1Technical senior author Balázs Szabó picks out the important thing info forward of Round 15 of the 2022 FIA Formula One World Championship.
Zandvoort performed host to a memorable race in 2021 when the game returned to the Netherlands following a 35-year hiatus. The return of the Dutch Grand Prix was initially scheduled for 2020 however Formula One was pressured to postpone it because of the Covid-19 pandemic with the organizers unwilling to have a good time the return with a race that’s held behind closed doorways.
34 Dutch Grands Prix have been held to date, however solely 32 of those races had been a part of the Formula One World Championship, which means that this Sunday’s race would be the thirty second F1 Dutch Grand Prix.
All Dutch Grands Prix had been held at Zandvoort although the Netherlands has one other nice race monitor. However, this different well-known and legendary Dutch circuit, Assen is used for bike racing, and has hosted the Dutch TT, a spherical of the Motorcycle World Championship, since 1949.
The first ever F1 Dutch Grand Prix passed off in 1952 and was gained by Ferrari’s Alberto Ascari, who went on to take a second win the next yr. Before the large return in 2021, the final Dutch Grand Prix was gained by an Austrian with McLaren’s Niki Lauda crossing the end line first in his McLaren-TAG.
The most profitable driver is Jim Clark who gained the Dutch Grand Prix 4 instances, adopted by Jackie Stewart and Lauda, who gained three races apiece. The different repeat winners are Ascari, Jack Brabham, James Hunt and Alain Prost with all of them having two triumphs within the Netherlands to their names.
Ferrari is probably the most profitable constructor on the Dutch Grand Prix with eight victories. The Scuderia gained twice with Alberto Ascari on the wheel with Wolfgang von Trips, Jacky Ickx, Didier Pironi and René Arnoux additionally having clinched a win with the Maranello-based outfit.
#F1 is again: it is #DutchGP week! 🇳🇱
🎢 A twisting coastal rollercoaster
📐 Steep banking raises vertical forces
🏖️ Sand could make Zandvoort slippery pic.twitter.com/iS9sBWPb0P— Pirelli Motorsport (@pirellisport) August 21, 2023
The C1 compound is nominated on the Dutch Grand Prix as P Zero White onerous, C2 as P Zero Yellow medium and C3 as P Zero Red smooth. This is identical alternative because the final two years (since Zandvoort returned to the calendar) with the distinction being that the present C1 compound is softer than its predecessors.
The circuit measures 4.259 kilometres. Zandvoort is situated in an space of sand dunes close to the seashore, with the wind typically blowing sand onto the monitor and affecting grip; a problem usually related to locations like Bahrain.
Zandvoort generates some massive g forces throughout the 4.2-kilometre monitor: braking into Turns 1 and 11 is a deceleration of about 5g, whereas Turn 7 additionally gives lateral forces of round 5g.
The monitor climbs and drops considerably and a number of other sections are crowd favourites. This nature of the format makes the circuit a really difficult location the place the tiniest errors are punished because the run off zones are old-school gravel traps.
The monitor has extraordinarily slender asphalt strips and includes a twisty format, which implies that overtaking is way from simple. The medium- and high-speed corners require a medium to excessive downforce arrange.
Asked in regards to the difficulties introduced by the Zandvoort, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly stated: „It’s a bit old-school with the banking and it’s a spot the place you can not make errors – not fairly like Monaco however in the identical type. There are not any tarmac run off areas and in the event you get it flawed, you might be straight within the gravel or a wall, whereas the corners are uncommon.”
The Zandvoort circuit appears to be like considerably totally different to the monitor that final hosted Formula 1 in 1985 because it has been modified for its return in 2021: Turn 3 and the final one, Turn 14 (named after former circuit director John Hugenholtz and Dutch driver Arie Luyendyk respectively), now boast a 19 diploma banking, which permits the drivers to undergo them at a lot increased speeds.
Apart from the banked corners, there are different well-known turns at Zandvoort. One of those well-known corners is the Tarzan hairpin: the primary nook of the lap, which is now nearer to the start-finish line than it was beforehand. The Hans Ernst bend in the direction of the tip of the lap additionally has a wider exit than it did earlier than, enabling drivers to get on the facility sooner.
