Mika’s Tip

Max Verstappen has won both the Dutch Grand Prix held at Zandvoort since it returned to the Formula 1 schedule in 2021 and I think it is certain he will use the 2023 event this weekend to take a step closer to winning his third World Championship title. In front of a passionate crowd of Verstappen fans, the only question is who will join him on the podium. My tip is to watch out for the battle between Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton, separated by only one point in their fight for third place in the championship. It’s race of World Champions!

Mika’s Memories

Although I never raced at Zandvoort in Formula 1, I did drive there in other formula, including the DTM German Touring Car series for Mercedes. The circuit I was racing on back in 2005-2007 was almost identical to the one used now. It’s an old style circuit, quite narrow, not easy to overtake, quite technical with lots of change of direction across its 4.4 kms.

For current Formula 1 cars it’s a circuit which demands high downforce, similar to the levels seen in Monaco and Hungary, so are like a street circuit set-up. So although Zandvoort has a long pit straight which leads into the famous Tarzan hairpin bend, the circuit is really defined by its twists and turns. With only one racing line, overtaking is very difficult.

This means that qualifying is super important, again just like Monaco and Hungary. The one thing that could mix things up, as always, is the weather, and with rain showers forecast for all three days of the Grand Prix weekend I can see this playing a very important part in the race.

Championship Form

If Max wins again on Sunday it will be his 9th consecutive race win, matching the record set by Sebastian Vettel back in 2013. That was during Vettel’s fourth World Championship season and we are now seeing another era of total domination by Red Bull, but at an even higher level. The team has won every race this season, another win will give them 30 victories since the start of last season. A really incredible performance, and so far no one else looks like challenging them.

Sergio Perez has recovered some ground after a difficult start to the season and is now 40 points clear of Fernando Alonso, so the Mexican’s job is just to keep everything going smoothly, avoid mistakes and ensure Red Bull keep producing 1-2 finishes.

Lewis Hamilton has been very consistent this season, he has only finished outside the top six once this season and, since Spain, has been finishing in the top four apart from in Austria. Mercerdes has made solid progress, so although they cannot compete for wins against Red Bull, podiums are definitely possible and Lewis should be right in there this weekend.

His long-time rival Fernando Alonso will be hoping for a good start to the second half of the season. After scoring six podiums in the first eight races he was confident that more podiums would follow, but his Aston Martin has not been quick enough in the last four Grands Prix. The new specification of Pirelli tyre introduced last month may be one reason.

Another reason is that McLaren have made a big step with their upgrades, Lando Norris finishing 2nd in Silverstone and Hungary. In Belgium they did not have enough straight-line speed, much less important in Zandvoort. Both Lando and team mate Oscar Piastri are much happier and more confident with their cars so I expect they will also be pushing for top five finishes and even a podium if the weekend goes their way.

Ferrari ended the first part of the season with a podium for Charles Leclerc in Belgium, but there is no guarantee they can repeat that in Zandvoort. Formula 1 is just so competitive in 2023 so long as you ignore Red Bull!