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It’s a fitting homecoming for the reigning Formula One world champion Max Verstappen, as he arrives at Zandvoort with a mammoth 93-point lead in the championship standings and having won nine of fourteen races in 2022. Join The Roar for live blog coverage of the Dutch Grand Prix from 10:50pm AEST.
The partisan crowd embrace their hero once more, as a sea of orange engulfs the 4.2km rollercoaster circuit. No less was expected coming into this Grand Prix, with only one driver the favourite to win.
It was a lights to flag victory for Verstappen when Formula One held its first Dutch Grand Prix since 1985 and the same is expected in the next 72-laps given the rich vein of form that the 24-year old is in.
There are few overtaking opportunities around this tight and twisty track, putting more emphasis on the long run into Turn 1 with DRS. Though in 2021, there was some bold moves around the steep banking of Turn 3.
Nevertheless, qualifying may have dictated the shape of the field – unless teams can execute bold strategies to get ahead of their rivals. There
is also the possibility of Safety Cars with little margin for error thanks to the gravel traps and close walls.
Verstappen will start from pole, though it came with the smallest margin of the season – 0.021-seconds ahead of Charles Leclerc. The Monegasque laid down an impressive marker with his final effort in Q3, only for the Red Bull driver to extract vital tenths in Sector 2.
Both Ferraris start behind Verstappen, though only a perfect execution of strategy would see either of them ahead of the Red Bull. On race pace, despite the red cars being ahead in practice – the edge would be in Max’s favour.
Sergio Perez in the other Red Bull crashed on his final Q3 run, yellow flagging the end of the session. He also splits the Mercedes’, with Lewis Hamilton still not able to break into the top three this season.
An impressive qualifying for Mick Schumacher too, setting the eighth fastest time and poised to score points for only the third time in his young career. There are question marks over his future with Haas, so a points finish would only support his case.
Will this be solely a formality for the one they call Super Max, or will there be a sea of disappointment at Zandvoort come the end of 72-laps?
Race Information
Lights out: 11pm (AEST)
Venue: Circuit Zandvoort, Netherlands
TV: Fox Sports
Online: Kayo Sports, Foxtel
Grid
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull), 2. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), 3. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari), 4. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), 5. Sergio Perez (Red Bull), 6. George Russell (Mercedes), 7. Lando Norris (McLaren), 8. Mick Schumacher (Haas), 9. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri), 10. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), 11. Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri), 12. Esteban Ocon (Alpine), 13. Fernando Alonso (Alpine), 14. Guanyu Zhou (Alfa Romeo), 15. Alexander Albon (Williams), 16. Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo), 17. Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren), 18. Kevin Magnussen (Haas), 19. Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin), 20. Nicholas Latifi (Williams)
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