2021 Dutch Grand Prix - Zandvoort Sept 3 - 5

[RZS10]

Wouldn't that have put him in traffic just like that horridly timed second stop?

[GOAT]

Honestly I think Lewis should have won this race! If they had pulled him in right as Max was catching/passing Bottas and Lewis was only 0.7s behind he would have jumped max on the out lap with a normal pitstop.

.. and make Hamilton go even longer on those already used mediums?

.. or should they also have put him on hards?



Shoulda, woulda, coulda..

[Manoah2u]

My guess/interpretation would be that in all the previous races in which Merc had no shot at victory on pace (Baku and both at the RBRing) they knew they would struggle and had to experiment with the setup etc but here they probably felt like the car was fine with a decent setup and Lewis still couldn't really make an impression on Max despite pushing really hard throughout the entire race.

Honestly I think Lewis should have won this race! If they had pulled him in right as Max was catching/passing Bottas and Lewis was only 0.7s behind he would have jumped max on the out lap with a normal pitstop.

I don't think that in the end, Mercedes really had a chance as RB had a lot covered and Max had a lot to spare.
That said, there COULD have been some opportunities, but they faded away fast, and it's always easy passing judgement afterwards.

Brawn mentioned how he didn't really understand why Merc did not opt for a 3-stopper. That is a good question, but then there were some other incidents as well, and perhaps Mercedes also didn't want to risk making an extra stop and getting scenes like when Bottas wheel could not come off due to a faulty wheel nut and risk losing precious points.

Hamilton's first pit stop didn't go that smooth to start with. Had his stop been smooth, then one could argue he could have saved a full second. If that happened, he would have been much closer to Max when Max made his stop and Lewis would have been on fully heated tires right in the DRS zone. He would not even had needed Bottas to slow Max down but likely would have had a chance to pass, and then have Bottas to put in between him and Max and build a gap.

Another scenario would have been indeed an extra stop and putting relentless pace in there, but then still the fact remains they're in uncharted territory due to the nature and newness of the track and lack of data.

And that all goes without mentioning that it's not out of the question that Max could have turned things up a notch and simply went faster. Max PERHAPS had a bit of luck in traffic moments, and Lewis COULD have had a bit of bad luck with that same traffic - it's just the way things go, but then still - i doubt Max was giving 100% of the car's potential, probably 90 to 95% tops. that remainder 5-10% probably would have been enough to keep Lewis behind anyway.

Again, i think it's pretty much a case of that the race was decided - ala Monaco - at the start and the first corner.

Max had a perfect start and perhaps RBR even have worked on the starts. It's an area that had room for improvement and it seems that arrived, which is why Hamilton mentioned they rocketeered off.

I think next year will be more interesting due to the different car design and the data gathered which partially will be useful.

I did get surprised about the lack of accidents and cars getting off, especially due to the apparant lack of wind and sand effects. Teams seemingly also had their drivers driving a bit mellower if you wish.

What would greatly interest me is to see a Zandvoort AND Assen GP. I also think from all tracks, Zandvoort is likely to be benefitted from Sprint Racing.

[Juzh]

Max PERHAPS had a bit of luck in traffic moments, and Lewis COULD have had a bit of bad luck with that same traffic

As you nicely put it in caps, Verstappen didn't really have any more luck with traffic than Hamilton. It shifted from one's advantage to another depending on any given situation. Sometimes Ver lost seconds on one occasion, then Ham lost the same next time round... Though I believe over full race Verstappen actually lost slightly more than Hamilton. Being first on the scene is usually always worse than being second, and it was also the case this time. Hamilton often times caught traffic in ideal places that gave him DRS on main straight without being affected in S3 at all, as most cars jumped out of the way just before second to last corner. This was worth around ~0.3s gain and it happened numerous times. As it turned out Verstappen did all his passing in S2 and almost never had DRS on main straight.

Max had a perfect start and perhaps RBR even have worked on the starts. It's an area that had room for improvement and it seems that arrived, which is why Hamilton mentioned they rocketeered off.

Hamilton likes to overblow things a little. He had a near perfect start (unlike bottas), but so did Max, so they both just held identical distance to each other. Maybe that is what's bothering him, perfect start and still it wasn't enough.

[Manoah2u]

Indeed, but my point was really simple, that this really had no impact on the results however. Even if Mercedes could have 'done more' and Lewis lost time here and there, it's unlikely that it would have been enough. But either way, everybody knows that this race would have been Max' and i would argue Hamilton knew this too.
I also wouldn't be surprised if the effect of the completely orange coloured grandstands and hearable cheering of the orange army not only motivated Max to get everything out of his toes, but perhaps even impressed Hamilton enough to be just ever so slightly mentally 'distracted' or even ever so slightly 'intimidated'. Point being - again - that arguably RBR just was too strong in whatever case.

It's likely that Mercedes - and other teams - were very much prepared and expecting (multiple) SC and red flag situations. That would have greatly impacted the race and it's tactics. But it stayed out completely. There ever only was a tiny moment where Bottas almost careered into Vettel at a moment where he had a little dance.

Either way, let's move on now. Both drivers won their home GP, there is no signal anymore of any sore feelings or behaviour, we're back in the championship fight, Max is now ahead and we have a bunch of GP's left with some tracks suiting Merc and others RB.

[Mogster]

Max PERHAPS had a bit of luck in traffic moments, and Lewis COULD have had a bit of bad luck with that same traffic

As you nicely put it in caps, Verstappen didn't really have any more luck with traffic than Hamilton. It shifted from one's advantage to another depending on any given situation. Sometimes Ver lost seconds on one occasion, then Ham lost the same next time round... Though I believe over full race Verstappen actually lost slightly more than Hamilton. Being first on the scene is usually always worse than being second, and it was also the case this time. Hamilton often times caught traffic in ideal places that gave him DRS on main straight without being affected in S3 at all, as most cars jumped out of the way just before second to last corner. This was worth around ~0.3s gain and it happened numerous times. As it turned out Verstappen did all his passing in S2 and almost never had DRS on main straight.

Max had a perfect start and perhaps RBR even have worked on the starts. It's an area that had room for improvement and it seems that arrived, which is why Hamilton mentioned they rocketeered off.

Hamilton likes to overblow things a little. He had a near perfect start (unlike bottas), but so did Max, so they both just held identical distance to each other. Maybe that is what's bothering him, perfect start and still it wasn't enough.

Max does set off like a rocket on the first lap, he’s just gone.

[NathanOlder]

When you state a fact, be preapred to back it up.

No problem buddy- you should know by now we are only here to help.

Current #1 with 344,5 points =

https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2021/team.html

Right? Some people are saying Max is BARELY leading the championship despite having a dominant car though.
Should really be Current #1 with at least 30pts margin if Max was screwed over so much. Then Max+RB16B dominance would be more apparent.

No, people are saying Max is leading the championship, and has had the better car over the 13 races we have had so far. No one is saying dominant other than some of his fans saying he is dominating. So don't get it mixed up.

Can you honestly say these statements are not true.

-No single driver is dominanting the 2021 season.
-The RedBull has been the car to have at more than half the races so far.
-The championship is very finely balanced and could still go either way Max/Lewis.

[sosic2121]

Honestly I think Lewis should have won this race! If they had pulled him in right as Max was catching/passing Bottas and Lewis was only 0.7s behind he would have jumped max on the out lap with a normal pitstop.

.. and make Hamilton go even longer on those already used mediums?

.. or should they also have put him on hards?



Shoulda, woulda, coulda..

Or should they have put him on pole?

[NathanOlder]

How come we didnt see any more helmet cam, would have been great to see turn 3 from the drivers eye line.

[Spacepace]

How come we didnt see any more helmet cam, would have been great to see turn 3 from the drivers eye line.

Only ran it in free practice. Teams haven't agreed to use it during qualifying and race

[NathanOlder]

How come we didnt see any more helmet cam, would have been great to see turn 3 from the drivers eye line.

Only ran it in free practice. Teams haven't agreed to use it during qualifying and race

Did they run it in free practice at Zandvoort ? I don't recall seeing any footage.

[El Scorchio]

How come we didnt see any more helmet cam, would have been great to see turn 3 from the drivers eye line.

Only ran it in free practice. Teams haven't agreed to use it during qualifying and race

Did they run it in free practice at Zandvoort ? I don't recall seeing any footage.

Just Alonso for a bit in Spa, I think?

[NathanOlder]

Only ran it in free practice. Teams haven't agreed to use it during qualifying and race

Did they run it in free practice at Zandvoort ? I don't recall seeing any footage.

Just Alonso for a bit in Spa, I think?

Yeah thats all I saw. I wondered if they did some in Zandvoort but didn't see any. shame.

[El Scorchio]

Did they run it in free practice at Zandvoort ? I don't recall seeing any footage.

Just Alonso for a bit in Spa, I think?

Yeah thats all I saw. I wondered if they did some in Zandvoort but didn't see any. shame.

Definitely is a shame. The footage was great! Maybe they can get a driver to wear one for a lap or two in free practice each race. It’s so different to the super smooth T cam. You’d think they were effortlessly driving on glass.

[Mogster]

Sky we’re saying the camera only weighs 2g. I was surprised it didn’t appear again at Zandvoort.

There was some suggestion that some of the teams are uncomfortable with it as it makes it easy to see the steering wheel LCD…