27/08/2023
NEWS STORY
Max Verstappen took his third consecutive Dutch Grand Prix victory, at the same time equalling the record for nine straight wins in a season, previously set by Sebastian Vettel in 2013, also at the wheel of a Red Bull. This was Verstappen's 46th career win, bringing his total number of podium finishes to 90.
The rain was the main factor that affected the outcome of the race. Everyone started on dry tyres, Hamilton on the Medium, with everyone else on the Soft. But right from the opening lap the rain appeared, forcing almost the entire field to pit for Intermediates. However, some brave drivers - the Williams duo, Hulkenberg, Bottas and Piastri - opted to stay out, banking on the rain not lasting long. Indeed, after about ten laps, the track was again suitable for slicks so that in the space of 12 laps everyone was back on dry tyres. In these very cool conditions, the Soft was clearly the best compound and was used for as long as possible, as can be seen from the fact that Tsunoda did 50 laps with one set and Albon 44.
Only one driver, Russell, opted for the Hard tyre, finding himself down the back end of the pack after the Safety Car came out following Sargeant going off track. The Mercedes driver would probably have finished the race on that set of C1s if the rain had not decided to once again shake things up, falling even more heavily than at the start of the race. Once again, all the drivers began to pit and with the rain really coming down, some even opted to fit the extreme wet, Ocon being the first to do this followed by the two Red Bull drivers. The race was red flagged after Zhou went off, so the question as to how these tyres would have performed in these conditions went unanswered. In the closing stages after the restart, the intermediate proved it was a valid choice even with a lot of water on a track with a temperature of only 20 degrees C.
Next weekend, Monza hosts the Formula 1 Pirelli Gran Premio d'Italia 2023. Tyres for the Italian round, from 1 to 3 September will be the C3, C4 and C5 compound and for a second time after it was first tried in Hungary, the Alternative Tyre Allocation will be applied. Pirelli is the Italian Grand Prix title sponsor, its home race, as its headquarters are just a few kilometres from the circuit in the Bicocca district of Milan.
Mario Isola: "It was a very spectacular race, with several changes in the weather which made life difficult for the teams when it came to deciding on which tyre to use and when to pit. From a purely technical point of view, apart from the literally colourful sight of having all five our tyre colours being used, two aspects are worth highlighting.
"As expected over the course of the weekend, the cooler temperatures favoured the use of the Softs, clearly the best tyre in the dry, even coping well in wet conditions, as demonstrated by the drivers who chose not to pit in the opening laps when it started to rain. The compound most affected was the Hard, but the long stint from Russell, who would probably have run to the chequered flag if the rain had not returned, demonstrated that this tyre was not totally unsuited to the conditions. The second point to underline concerns the Intermediate, which once again proved to be competitive with either a little or a lot of water on the track.
"Finally, there are various people I wish to congratulate: Max Verstappen for his ninth consecutive win, the Zandvoort spectators who once again put on an amazing show in the grandstands, their enthusiasm so contagious despite the bad weather, Fernando Alonso back on the podium, as he had been doing regularly at the start of the season, at one point even looking to challenge for the win and to Pierre Gasly who produced a really great result."
Check out our Sunday gallery from Zandvoort here.