The Dutch Grand Prix brought drama for Ferrari as Charles Leclerc’s race was marked by two unlucky pit stops
The Dutch Grand Prix delivered plenty of excitement today, perhaps even too much for Italian fans. Lewis Hamilton’s retirement, crashing into the wall at Turn 3 on lap 24, followed shortly after by Charles Leclerc’s exit at the same corner following contact with Andrea Kimi Antonelli, turned Zandvoort into a disastrous weekend for Ferrari.
The same can be said for Lando Norris, who retired just 8 laps from the end due to a power unit failure. However, when it comes to race strategies, things went almost as expected. Pirelli’s softer compound nomination compared to last year pushed teams and drivers towards a two-stop approach. While the tyre supplier initially suggested that a one-stop strategy could be the main option, the softer choice combined with two Safety Car periods led most drivers to commit to two stops, even those who were uncertain before the start.
Strategy recap
Before diving into the race highlights, let’s take a closer look at the strategies used at Zandvoort. The majority of the grid opted for two pit stops. The fastest approach was executed by Oscar Piastri, who completed the 72 laps using Medium (C3), Hard (C2) and another Hard (C2). On a similar plan were Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso, the only drivers with two sets of Hard tyres available.
Max Verstappen was the only one to go for a Soft-Medium-Soft strategy, while Isack Hadjar, George Russell, Alexander Albon and Gabriel Bortoleto chose Medium-Hard-Soft. The first three also made good use of the Safety Car to change tyres. Yuki Tsunoda went for Soft-Hard-Soft and scored points. Then there were more unusual cases, such as Antonelli’s three-stop plan (Medium-Hard-Soft-Soft) dictated by his collision with Leclerc, Franco Colapinto’s Soft-Hard-Medium-Soft that got him to 11th place, Lawson’s four stops (Medium-Hard-Soft-Soft), and Carlos Sainz’s five stops (Medium-Hard-Soft-Soft-Soft) following his contact with Antonelli.
Haas scores points thanks to textbook one-stop strategy
The standout performers with a one-stop strategy were the two Haas cars. Oliver Bearman, starting from the pit lane, finished sixth with a Hard-Medium approach. Esteban Ocon did the same, crossing the line 10th and still scoring an excellent result. Both, starting from the back, decided to stay out during the first Safety Car and took full advantage of the second and final one to change tyres. It was a brilliant first stint management, helped by a touch of luck at the end. Pierre Gasly followed the same strategy but did not enjoy the same fortune. Considering the comeback he made, many felt Oliver Bearman deserved to be named ‘Driver of the Day’—though Hadjar could also have been a worthy choice.
A very unlucky race for Charles Leclerc
After covering Haas, we turn to Charles Leclerc’s race. While at the front the fight was more about race pace than pit strategy, behind McLaren the timing of pit stops was crucial.
The undercut proved to be extremely powerful, and Leclerc, who had pulled off a brilliant overtaking move on Russell, was unlucky both times he stopped.
At the start, Charles immediately overtook George and tucked in behind Max Verstappen and Hadjar. Unable to pass the Frenchman on track, Leclerc pitted around lap 23 to try and undercut both Max and Isack. Unfortunately, as soon as he rejoined the track, Hamilton’s crash forced the first Safety Car. The leaders got a free pit stop, leaving Leclerc behind Russell once again.
After the restart, Leclerc quickly retook Russell with a spectacular move, even putting two wheels on the gravel, which sent the crowd wild. The FIA confirmed the overtake as legal. Russell then struggled, was passed by Antonelli, and the Italian began chasing the Monegasque driver.
On lap 52, Antonelli was called into the pits, and the following lap Ferrari did the same with Leclerc to cover themselves. Once again, however, just as he exited the pits, the Safety Car was deployed—this time for Leclerc himself, who retired after contact with Antonelli’s Mercedes. His pit stops could not have been more unlucky. What makes it worse is that Charles had not even wanted to stop for the second time.
Looking back, it might seem that avoiding the second pit stop would have been better, but rivals on fresh tyres would have been far more competitive. Proof came with Piastri’s fastest lap of 1’12’’271 set on lap 60 with Hard tyres. The crash was an unpredictable incident that no strategy could foresee. Ferrari’s call was reasonable and, without the collision, it might even have put Leclerc in contention for a podium place, depending on whether Verstappen and Hadjar decided to make their second stops.
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