Here is our full text transcript of the report from the 2023 Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix, which was held at the Zandvoort circuit located in the dunes north of Zandvoort, the Netherlands, near the North Sea coast line:
It’s race day! We haven’t said that for a month as F1 is back and it’s almost time for the Dutch Grand Prix. Max Verstappen has the opportunity to equal Sebastian Vettel’s record of nine consecutive wins today, a remarkable achievement which underlines his dominance. He starts from pole position alongside Lando Norris in a repeat of the Silverstone front row, with George Russell, Alex Albon and Fernando Alonso making up the top five.
Lewis Hamilton had a disappointing Qualifying as he was eliminated in Q2 and will need to come through the field from 13th. There is rain in the Zandvoort area which could bring him into play and it might make things tricky for Max Verstappen to make it a hat-trick of Dutch Grand Prix wins.
Scuderia Ferrari drivers Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc will start the race from P6 and P9 at the Zandvoort circuit. A lot of replacements and repairs were made to Charles Leclerc’s car following the incident in Q3 yesterday.
The FIA’s official weather system says the risk of rain for the race is at 70 per cent. Whether that means a few drops, as we’ve seen so far today, or something more significant, remains to be seen. As has been said several times, whatever the weather does, it won’t stop the Dutch fans from enjoying their day.
It’s soft tyres for the whole field apart from Lewis Hamilton, who is on the mediums. Hamilton could struggle initially off the line with the harder tyre. The formation lap is under way and all 19 drivers (Kevin Magnussen is in the pit lane) get away cleanly.
Show your support for Scuderia Ferrari with official merchandise collection! Click here to enter the F1 online Store and shop securely! And also get your F1 tickets for every race with VIP hospitality and unparalleled insider access. Click here for the best offers to support Charles and Carlos from the track!
Show your support for Scuderia Ferrari with official merchandise collection! Click here to enter the F1 online Store and shop securely! And also get your F1 tickets for every race with VIP hospitality and unparalleled insider access. Click here for the best offers to support Charles and Lewis from the track!
Some drivers are reporting light rain, so wet weather is in the area as Max Verstappen leads the cars onto the grid. Lights out and away we go! It’s an even start at the front and Max Verstappen holds the lead! Lando Norris holds second and Fernando Alonso makes a brilliant move down the inside on George Russell at the banked Turn 3 to take third place. It hasn’t been the greatest start for Hamilton as he drops a place to 14th.
It’s raining hard at the end of the circuit, so Perez is among a number of drivers coming into the pits. This is chaos!
Chaos for Ferrari in pits! Lap 2/72: Charles Leclerc was one of the first ones to head into the pits but it looks like the Ferrari garage weren’t quite ready with the tyres! He is back out in 15th. Verstappen pits for intermediates and comes out far behind Perez. Meanwhile, Russell takes the lead from Norris at Turn 1 as they stay out on the dry tyres.
Lap 3/72: Perez was the first driver to pit for intermediates and he’s into the lead as he cruises by Russell and Norris. WOW. The drivers that pitted at the end of the first lap have gained massively. This includes Perez, Zhou and Gasly who are at the front. Verstappen is fourth after he pitted on the second lap. Norris pitted on Lap 3, but is down in 12th, while the Mercedes have still not boxed and are out there on dry tyres.
Charles Leclerc was informed of damage on the front wing: “You have damage on the front right. We are missing the end plate. Missing 2%.” Carlos Sainz has just been allowed to pass his teammate, Charles Leclerc, into sixth after Leclerc suffered from front wing damage. The Spaniard asked not to be impeded and got his wish.
Lap 11/72: We have just heard that there might be some rain coming, but Hamilton wants to be ahead of the curve this time and pits for the dry tyres. He is now in 18th. Lap 11/72: The track is now dry enough for slicks and several drivers are on slicks now including everyone from Alonso in fifth downwards.
Lap 12/72: This could be controversial. Verstappen pits first for slicks. Normally, the driver ahead in a team gets priority. I wonder if Perez wanted to stay out? Verstappen could undercut him here. Perez pits for slicks but comes out behind Verstappen. The Dutchman is back in the lead. Why did Red Bull pit Verstappen first?
SAFETY CAR: Logan Sargeant crashes at Turn 8 and we have a safety car. Sargeant goes wide at Turn 7 and loses his car as he spins into the barrier at the next corner. Everyone in the top 10 stays out, given they pitted recently. Lap 21/72: The safety car is coming in at the end of this lap. Let’s see if anyone is brave enough to make a move into Turns 1 or 3.
Lap 22/72: Alonso gets a great restart and cheekily looks to the inside, forcing Perez to defend at Turn 1. He can’t make a move though and the Mexican holds on. Carlos Sainz tries to do the same thing with Gasly, who has a five-second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane, but Gasly is still fourth. Lewis Hamilton still currently sits in 13th but he currently has the fastest lap and is trying to gain on Charles Leclerc in 12th. He is +0.293s behind him now, just as Xavi reports to Charles that they have a damage on the floor and are missing 5%-10% downforce level on his Ferrari SF-23 car.
They felt like they were being held up by the Ferrari but they are not anymore as both Lewis Hamilton and Oscar Piastri pass Charles Leclerc. It looks like the Ferrari man just has no pace today due to the floor damage. Lando Norris gets past Kevin Magnussen and after starting in second is back up into the points. He is now within DRS range of Tsunoda. Lap 30/72: The tyre degradation appears to be low on the dry tyres, so we should have just one more pit stop for everyone if it’s green to the end of the race. Verstappen is getting faster and faster, while Perez is withstanding the Alonso charge for now.
Lap 36/72: It’s certainly been an eventful first half of the race but it’s somehow a Red Bull 1-2 despite the rain and pit stop chaos. Verstappen leads by five seconds from Perez, who is four seconds ahead of Alonso. Next is Gasly, Sainz and Albon in the battle for fourth. Meanwhile, Norris and Hamilton are coming through the field nicely in ninth and 10th after a poor start. Light rain is expected in five minutes, first hitting the middle sector. However, it’s not going to be high intensity according to Red Bull.
Lap 42/72: Carlos Sainz pits from fifth, the first of the leading runners to make what should be their last pit stop. Pierre Gasly has a five-second penalty for speeding remember, so the Spaniard should jump him.
Lap 43/72: What a day to forget for Charles Leclerc! He has been told the issues he has been suffering are only getting worse and the Ferrari garage choose to retire the car.
Lap 45/72: Carlos Sainz is flying on those fresh soft tyres. He’s just set a new fastest lap and Aston Martin will have to be aware of this for Fernando Alonso. Esteban Ocon and Alex Albon also pit, as they notice the benefit of new rubber. Yuki Tsunoda defended incredibly well against Norris and he is doing the same again in her against Hamilton. The Merc is now in the pits for soft tyres and opts for some extra speed over the battle.
Lap 49/72: It’s heartbreak for Fernando Alonso as he has a slow pit stop! That promotes Carlos Sainz into third. Disaster for Alonso as he’s also come out behind Yuki Tsunoda, so is fifth. Alonso was stationary for around five seconds longer than he should have. He has been fighting hard but Tsunoda finally has to let Gasly and Alonso through. The Aston-Martin is flying on his new set of tyres as he sets the fastest lap of the race.
Lap 51/72: Alonso is pushing very hard to make amends for Aston Martin’s slow pit stop. He’s much faster than Sainz and within DRS of the Ferrari driver and our podium hopes didn’t last very long.
Lap 52/72: Alonso throws his car up the inside of Sainz at Turn 1, despite the latter’s best efforts to defend. Great racing from both drivers and Alonso is back in third place.
Lap 58/72: Pierre Gasly nearly gets by Carlos Sainz at Turn 1 for fourth, but the Spaniard squeezes the Alpine driver on the exit. Gasly won’t be too happy with that. Max Verstappen leads by 10 seconds from Sergio Perez, with Fernando Alonso another 10 seconds behind. But, the rain is coming.
Lap 63/72: Sergio Perez goes off at Turn 1! He keeps it out of the wall but Fernando Alonso is second now. With how heavy the rain is now, DRS has been disabled. Pretty much everyone is on the inters now, with Ocon on the wets. Virtual saftey car: Zhou Guanyu crashes at Turn 1. He’s in the wall and can’t get out.
RED FLAG: The race is stopped due to the rain. Lap 64/72: What has gone on here? Red Bull sent Sergio Perez to the pits, but with the red flag, he is now stuck waiting to try and get back out onto the track. He has lost some places there. Moments before the red flag, Max Verstappen also pitted for wet tyres but managed to stay out in the lead. Fernando Alonso was told to pit, but chose not to, and is still second. Pierre Gasly is currently third on the classification due to Perez’s decision to stop just as the red flag came out. We are also now seeing replays of Yuki Tsunoda and Lewis Hamilton going off at Turn 1, as did Valtteri Bottas. They all came away unscathed.
The FIA have confirmed Sergio Perez will start from third when the race restarts. It looks like race control have taken the timing from the end of the previous lap. So it will be Verstappen, Alonso, Perez, Gasly, Sainz, Hamilton, Norris, Russell, Albon and Piastri in the top 10. More replays show Sergio Perez hit the wall when coming into the pits just before the red flag. That explains why there are several Red Bull mechanics surrounding the rear of his car right now.
Race control have said the drivers must use intermediate tyres for the restart. Some drivers might not have any new intermediates left, given how many sets they have been through this weekend!
It will NOT be a standing start. Race control have elected for a rolling start restart. The race resumes behind the safety car with eight laps to go. We will have at least couple of laps behind the safety car here, before we get going properly.
Lap 66/72: Light rain is on the way but nothing drastic according to Aston Martin. You can feel the tension ahead of this restart. The safety car is coming in. We will hopefully have six laps of green flag running. Here we go! Verstappen leads the field away and Alonso is not far behind. But, he can’t make a move in the opening few corners.
Lap 67/72: Sergio Perez has a five-second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane! That will drop him off the podium as it stands. And what has happened to Russell here? He is now OUT of this race after suffering a puncture and falling down the order. Alonso is still within one second of Verstappen, but he’s relying on a mistake from the reigning world champion.
Lap 69/72: Lewis Hamilton has more pace than Carlos Sainz and is pushing him hard for fifth place. The Ferrari man tells his engineer to be quiet and let him drive as he tries to resist Hamilton. Lando Norris is not too far from this battle too. Final lap: Hamilton gets very close to Sainz at Turn 1. They nearly come make contact but Sainz hangs on.
It’s nine consecutive wins for Max Verstappen. He equals Sebastian Vettel’s record from 2013 and it’s another victory on home soil. Fernando Alonso takes second and Pierre Gasly is third because of Sergio Perez’s five second time penalty, which drops him to fourth. Carlos Sainz is fifth from Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris.
Leave a Reply