Friday and Saturday practice at the Zandvoort circuit have featured many red flags which means there are still a number of unknowns for Formula 1 teams when it comes to making plans for today’s event. Ahead of the 2021 Dutch Grand Prix, we take a look at the different strategic options open to the teams for today’s race.
What are the likely strategies for the frontrunners?
Two options are available for those at the front of the field, given the fact that they had to use the soft tyre in Q2 in order to make it through to Q3 due to the very close margins on this short track. Most of the times Mercedes and Red Bull use the medium compounds in Q2 but the field spread was too close and track evolution meant they would not be able to qualify to the last stage on soft tyres.
This means that all top ten drivers will start the race on soft tyres. With some good tyre management they could extend the first stint beyond 30 laps and allow a switch to the medium compound for the second stage of the Dutch Grand Prix, yet the risk is there could be a clear drop-off in performance in the latter stages of that opening stint that negates the advantage that is built up.
The other possibility is less focused on tyre management and would see a change to the hard compound between laps 25 to 30. In this case the race pace will be a little bit slower, but there are no worries regarding the degradation on the hardest compound, and it allows an earlier stop to protect track position.
That latter point is very important, because overtaking will be extremely difficult, which means that the frontrunners will attempt a one-stop strategy and be wary of the undercut if they are under pressure from a rival behind.
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