After its summer break, Formula 1 sprang back into life this weekend at the famous Zandvoort circuit in the Netherlands, and, following this afternoon’s Dutch Grand Prix, the 15th on this year’s calendar, it was McLaren’s Lando Norris who, despite a poor start, claimed a comfortable victory in front of a packed crowd dominated by orange-clad Max Verstappen fans.
McLaren’s Lando Norris comprehensively outpaced Red Bull’s Max Verstappen toda
It was revealed during the summer break that the highly experienced Red Bull sporting director, Jonathan Wheatley, will leave the team at the end of this season to become the Audi team principal in 2026, with next year spent on ‘gardening leave’. Having acquired the current Sauber team, Audi will join the Formula 1 grid in 2026 with its own car and power unit. 57-year-old Wheatley is well respected within the F1 world and is known to have long harboured a personal desire to become a team principal. The Brit has been with Red Bull for the last 18 years, during which time the outfit has earned six Constructors’ and seven Drivers’ Championship titles.
2024 Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix
1 Lando Norris (McLaren) 1hr30m45.519s
2 Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +22.896s
3 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +25.439s
4 Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +27.337s
5 Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) +32.137s
6 Sergio Pérez (Red Bull) +39.542s
7 George Russell (Mercedes) +44.617s
8 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) +49.599s
9 Pierre Gasly (Alpine) Lapped
10 Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) Lapped
11 Nico Hülkenberg (Haas) Lapped
12 Daniel Ricciardo (RB) Lapped
13 Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) Lapped
14 Alex Albon (Williams) Lapped
15 Esteban Ocon (Alpine) Lapped
16 Logan Sargeant (Williams) Lapped
17 Yuki Tsunoda (RB) Lapped
18 Kevin Magnussen (Haas) Lapped
19 Valtteri Bottas (Sauber) Lapped
20 Zhou Guanyu (Sauber) LappedStaff turnover is a challenge virtually every business has to deal with, including within Formula 1, but such events also enable other individuals to achieve new positions and enhance their skills. The forthcoming loss of both Wheatley and design guru Adrian Newey will be felt by Red Bull, but it is hardly the falling apart of the team some are suggesting, with these developments also being a highly convenient way during the current cost-cap environment of losing highly remunerated individuals from the payroll. It’s still uncertain where Newey’s future lies, but it’s almost certainly going to be within F1, and the latest clear favourite to attract his services is the Silverstone-based Aston Martin team. Any announcement cannot be made though until at least next month due to clauses in Newey’s severance agreement with Red Bull.
Also on the Red Bull front, the Milton Keynes-based outfit announced recently that an appeal against the result of an earlier investigation, which cleared team principal Christian Horner of any wrongdoing towards a colleague, had not been upheld. After a detailed eight-week review, an independent barrister reached the initial conclusion before the suspended female employee appealed against this verdict, but a different independent barrister reached the same conclusion as the original investigation, and the team now considers the case closed.
The Zandvoort track is one of the shortest on the F1 calendar, so lap times are expected to be close and the margins between success and failure small. It’s also technically complex, and the drivers arrived in the Netherlands knowing that they would love the challenges and opportunities posed by the 19-degree banking at Turn 3 and the final corner
Elsewhere, McLaren has given its team principal, Andrea Stella, a multi-year extension to his existing contract with the Woking-based outfit, and 36-year-old Oliver Oakes has joined Alpine as its new team principal, taking over from Bruno Famin, who has stepped down to focus on all other motorsport-related activities for the Renault Group. Oakes is a British former racing driver who was once a member of the Red Bull Young Driver Programme before moving into management after founding Hitech Grand Prix, a team that competes in Formula 2 and Formula 3. The new Alpine boss will report to Renault Group CEO, Luca de Meo. Also, Alpine’s 21-year-old Australian reserve driver, Jack Doohan, who is the son of the five-time 500CC motorbike world champion Mick Doohan, has been promoted to a race seat at the outfit for 2025, partnering Pierre Gasly and filling the gap created by the forthcoming departure of Esteban Ocon to Haas.
On the Mercedes front, official news is still awaited about who will join the team next year to replace the Ferrari-bound Sir Lewis Hamilton as George Russell’s new teammate, but the Italian Formula 2 driver, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who turned just 18 today, is set to replace Hamilton in the opening free practice session at next weekend’s Italian Grand Prix. It’s also expected that an announcement will be made there about him being promoted to the Mercedes race team with effect from 2025.
Jack Doohan will make his F1 race debut for Alpine next year
In other news, Hamilton has been unable to persuade his long-time close ally within the Mercedes team, Peter 'Bono' Bonnington, to move with him to Ferrari with effect from next year. The 49-year-old has been Hamilton’s senior race engineer since the British driver opted to leave McLaren and join Mercedes at the start of the 2013 season, and they have become a formidable partnership. An emotional Bonnington appeared alongside Hamilton on this year’s British Grand Prix podium after the driver’s first win since 2021. However, Mercedes has been enjoying something of a resurgence of late, and Bonnington has been promoted to a new role as the team’s head of race engineering. The prospect of staying in the UK at the Brackley-based outfit and helping to nurture the fledgling career of young Antonelli, whom Bonnington rates very highly, has proved too much of a draw compared to relocating to Maranello with Hamilton.
...Hamilton has been unable to persuade his long-time close ally within the Mercedes team, Peter 'Bono' Bonnington, to move with him to Ferrari.
Turning to Zandvoort, unlike Hamilton and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, who are clearly happy to continue racing in Formula 1 whilst into their 40s, 26-year-old Verstappen revealed in the paddock last Thursday that he feels he is already past the halfway point of his own F1 career, which began back in 2015, with other targets to be achieved in his life, such as racing in the iconic annual Le Mans 24 Hour race.
The Zandvoort track is one of the shortest on the F1 calendar, so lap times are expected to be close and the margins between success and failure small. It’s also technically complex, and the drivers arrived in the Netherlands knowing that they would love the challenges and opportunities posed by the 19-degree banking at Turn 3 and the final corner. In Friday’s opening free practice session, Norris led the way ahead of Verstappen, Hamilton, and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, and, come the subsequent second period on track, it was Russell who topped the timing screens, with the other McLaren driver, Oscar Piastri, Hamilton, and Norris the best of the rest. The session was briefly interrupted by red flags after Nico Hülkenberg had spun his Haas at Turn 1 and hit the barriers, fortunately emerging uninjured. Further red flags flew during yesterday’s final practice period after Logan Sargeant had dropped two wheels onto the grass at Turn 3 and had his own excursion into the barriers, with the rear of his Williams car then catching fire. Most drivers completed only a handful of laps in the wet conditions, with Alpine’s Gasly and Haas’ Kevin Magnussen emerging on top after the unrepresentative session.
This of course sent the Verstappen fans wild with delight, but they were to appreciate a little later that a race is never won on the opening lap.
Unsurprisingly, Sargeant failed to take part in the following qualifying hour as his damaged car could not be repaired in time, but Norris was thrilled to beat local hero Verstappen to pole position, his third of the season, leaving Piastri and Russell to claim the second row on the grid for this afternoon’s race. The Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Sainz were only sixth and 11th quickest and Hamilton 12th, with the latter later demoted three places by the stewards after being found guilty of impeding Red Bull’s Sergio Pérez during the qualifying process. Also, Williams’ Alex Albon was disqualified after the stewards discovered irregularities regarding the size of his car’s floor, and the Thai/British driver was set to start from the back of the grid, together with his teammate Sargeant.
Verstappen had won the last three Grands Prix here since F1 returned to the track in 2021, but the reigning champion knew that he would face serious opposition to make it four out of four, with McLaren in particular a serious threat. However, Norris has made some less than impressive starts this season, and, as such, he was under real pressure to retain his pole position advantage over Verstappen at this afternoon’s start, which was scheduled for 3pm local time. After a mixture of wet and dry conditions throughout the first two days of the Dutch round, the rain stayed away today, with warm temperatures and a mix of sun and clouds.
Verstappen had to settle for second place at his home Grand Prix
When those famous red lights were extinguished and Verstappen made his 200th F1 start, he executed it brilliantly and leapt into an immediate lead ahead of Norris, whose worst fears materialised. This of course sent the Verstappen fans wild with delight, but they were to appreciate a little later that a race is never won on the opening lap. Another driver making a great start was Russell, as he quickly got the better of Piastri and edged into third position. By lap eight, it looked like a two-horse race between Verstappen and Norris, as the former started to edge clear of his closest rival and third-placed Russell was unable to match their pace. However, ten tours later, Norris swept back into the lead past Verstappen with a DRS-assisted pass at Turn 1, a corner that is actually far more interestingly officially known as Tarzan!
As the race’s conclusion neared, the tension and excitement within the McLaren pit garages reached fever pitch as Norris increased his lead to over 22 seconds and it was almost time to bring the champagne out of the fridges!
A one-stop strategy was the preferred option for most, switching from initial medium rubber to hard, and the leading runners started making their visits to the pits with effect from lap 25 of 72. Piastri was the last to do so, and this left Norris back in the lead ahead of Verstappen and Leclerc. Soon Norris set about increasing his lead over the triple champion, as Piastri usurped Russell for fourth position and set his sights on Leclerc. This prompted the Ferrari team to radio Leclerc with a message to drive faster if he could—something you never want to hear as a racing driver!
With plenty of ontrack action throughout the field, we were also treated to a fascinating battle between sixth placed Pérez and a chasing Sainz, with the Spaniard ultimately gaining the upper hand on lap 47. By the 54th tour the still leading Norris had extended his lead over Verstappen to 14 seconds, just before Mercedes called Russell in for a second time to replace his hard tyres with soft ones. This left the driver from King’s Lynn rejoining in seventh place, where he was to remain until the chequered flag, one position ahead of his team-mate Hamilton.
As the race’s conclusion neared, the tension and excitement within the McLaren pit garages reached fever pitch as Norris increased his lead to over 22 seconds and it was almost time to bring the champagne out of the fridges! Norris had won his first ever Grand Prix in Miami back in early May, but on that occasion he had been very much assisted by the timing of a safety car intervention. Today was different though as his victory was fully deserved, despite the poor start.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was happy to return to an F1 podium
So, Norris, Verstappen, and Leclerc celebrated on the post-race podium, and Piastri, Sainz, and Pérez completed the leading sextet of finishers. The icing on the cake for Norris, who, like many of his F1 colleagues, lives in Monaco for tax reasons but actually originates from Glastonbury, was to also claim the extra point for the fastest lap of the race.
Thoughts of F1’s summer break have already long disappeared for all concerned and, following today’s chequered flag at Zandvoort, the focus shifted fully to getting everything packed up and relocated just under 700 miles south to Italy’s famous Monza circuit, just outside Milan, where the cars will first take to the track on Friday before the Italian Grand Prix takes place there a week today. Being Ferrari’s home race, it will, as always, be dominated by a sea of red-clad and highly passionate Tifosi fans, just as orange was the predominant colour in the Netherlands this weekend.
2024 Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship
1 Max Verstappen 295
2 Lando Norris 225
3 Charles Leclerc 192
