Racing resumes…at the seaside

The break is over and so it’s time to close the parasols, put away the swimsuits and dig out the suitcase containing the team kit. However, the next destination still has a slight holiday vibe as it’s Zandvoort, literally on the sand dunes of the North Sea. Round 15 of the season is the 33rd Dutch Grand Prix, all of them having been held at this little track.

Fine tuning. Zandvoort is a medium-high downforce track, with a surface that’s particularly hard on tyres and fine-tuning car set up needs to take that factor into consideration. Drivers have to work with the engineers to find the best balance to suit both qualifying and especially race pace for Sunday’s 72 laps.

Parabolic. Sea breezes often blow across the 4.259 kilometre-long track, sometimes strong enough to disturb the handling of the cars, as well as bringing a lot of sand onto the surface. Zandvoort’s standout feature is its parabolic corners and the fact that it drops and climbs through many well known corners. There are two different lines through the banked turn 3, Hugenholtzbocht in the first sector, while 14 at the end of the lap has a 16 degree incline, which allows the drivers to tackle it at very high speed. Among the list of famous corners is Tarzan (Tarzanbocht), a sharp right hander at the end of the start-finish straight, which is slightly banked. The track is generally narrow and twisty, therefore not ideal for overtaking, which means it’s a circuit where qualifying is very important. There are two DRS zone, between turns 10 and 11 and another on the main straight. In free practice, the mobile rear wing also gets used going through the final Arie Luyendykbocht corner.

Programme. Free practice for the Dutch Grand Prix takes place on Friday with the first session at 12.30 and the second at 16.00. The final hour of free practice begins on Saturday at 11.30 followed by qualifying at 15.00. The race gets underway on Sunday at 15.00. (All times CEST)

Fred Vasseur - Team Principal Scuderia Ferrari HP

Just before the summer break, the team as a whole performed well in the Belgian Grand Prix, securing pole position and a podium finish with Charles, which was a real confidence booster. Now we go racing once again at Zandvoort, a completely different track to Spa, being short, narrow and twisty. Therefore, ensuring we do everything right, down to the last little detail, will be vital and qualifying will be especially important as overtaking is very difficult. As always, we will focus on getting every last drop of performance out of our package. That starts with identifying the best set-up as quickly as possible, as well as counting on those on the pit wall and the drivers making the right decisions at the key moments in qualifying and the race. Knowing how competitive the field is this season and given the nature of the track, it’s logical to expect the weekend to be fought out to the nearest hundredths of a second. Just before the summer break, the team as a whole performed well in the Belgian Grand Prix, securing pole position and a podium finish with Charles, which was a real confidence booster. Now we go racing once again at Zandvoort, a completely different track to Spa, being short, narrow and twisty. Therefore, ensuring we do everything right, down to the last little detail, will be vital and qualifying will be especially important as overtaking is very difficult. As always, we will focus on getting every last drop of performance out of our package. That starts with identifying the best set-up as quickly as possible, as well as counting on those on the pit wall and the drivers making the right decisions at the key moments in qualifying and the race. Knowing how competitive the field is this season and given the nature of the track, it’s logical to expect the weekend to be fought out to the nearest hundredths of a second.

FERRARI STATS

GP contested 1088

Seasons in F1 75

Debut Monaco 1950 (A. Ascari 2nd; R. Sommer 4th; L. Villoresi ret.)
Wins 245 (22.52%)

Pole positions 251 (23.06%)

Fastest laps 262 (24.08%)

Podiums 818 (25.06%)

FERRARI STATS DUTCH GRAND PRIX

GP contested 32

Debut 1952 (A. Ascari 1st; G. Farina 2nd; L. Villoresi 3rd; C. De Tornaco ret.)

Wins 8 (25.00%)

Pole positions 7 (21.87%)

Fastest laps 10 (31.25%) 

Podiums 25 (26,04%)

THREE QUESTIONS TO... MAYA WEUGTHREE QUESTIONS TO... MAYA WEUG

SCUDERIA FERRARI DRIVER ACADEMY

1.Describe the characteristics of the Zandvoort track?

Zandvoort is a real old school track, with no run-offs and the smallest mistake can turn into a big mistake. Zandvoort’s most characteristic feature is its banked corners, especially T3 and the last two corners which are really steep and that allows us to carry a lot more speed into the corners. With the circuit being so close to the sea there is always a lot of wind which can affect and change the balance of the car from one corner to another really quickly.

2. As a driver what is the trickiest part of driving at Zandvoort?

I think the trickiest aspect is that you have to be on the limit everywhere without making a mistake. Then of course it’s super important to put the lap together in qualifying as it is very difficult to overtake at this track. Sector 2 is especially tricky with all its high speed corners.

3. F1 Academy is back this week: what are your expectations for this round?

I’m really excited to be racing in Zandvoort, as it’s my home track and also one of my favourites to drive. I’m looking forward to jumping back in the car after a very tough weekend in Barcelona. We’ve worked a lot, together with the team and on the simulator, and made some changes which should help us to come back stronger this weekend.

Profile

Maya Weug

F1 Academy Driver for Scuderia Ferrari HP operated by  Prema

Nationality: Dutch, Belgian, Spanish

Born on 01/06/2004 

GRAND PRIX: FACTS & FIGURES

0. The number of drivers who retired from the 1961 Dutch Grand Prix, the first ever race of the Formula 1 World Championship in which all competitors were classified as finishers. To date, that has only happened on a further 16 occasions, mostly in recent times given the high level of reliability of the current Formula 1 cars, the last occurrence being in Austria at the end of June this year.

1. The position of the Netherlands in the list of countries producing the most flowers. It is known for its colourful fields of tulips and advanced horticultural methods, while a production capacity of over 12 billion flowers per year means it dominates the international market. This remarkable production capacity is down to a favourable climate, fertile soil and innovative greenhouse technology. The Dutch flower industry also boasts a very efficient distribution and logistics network, which enables it to export high-quality flowers all over the world. One interesting fact, the tulip, now regarded as the national flower, is not native to the Netherlands and was actually first imported from Turkey in the 16th century.

3. The number of firsts that can be attributed to the city of Haarlem, the capital of the province in which Zandvoort is located. The city is home to the oldest working astronomical clock in the Netherlands, the Zytglogge, in the Grote Markt square which dates back to 1410. The first public park to be established in the country, the wonderful Haarlemmerhout, opened in 1560. Haarlem is also where the first industrial company in the world was founded in 1592, the Haarlemmer Oil Works, which produced linseed oil and was a key to the development of the Dutch industrial revolution, the first along with that in England.

508. The population density per square kilometre of the Netherlands, based on United Nations data from 2020. The total population is 17,140,098 in a country measuring 33,720 square kilometres. It is the second most densely populated country in the European Union, after Malta. Interesting to note that around 92.5% of the population live in urban areas, while over 40% live in Randstad, an agglomeration including the cities of Amersterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht.

1208. The number of windmills in the Netherlands, many of which are open to the public all year round. Some, including the 19 at the UNESCO World Heritage site of Kinderdijk, are still used to drain water from the ground. Others such as the Molen de Valk in Leiden are used to grind grain into flour. Many of the mills have a small museum so that visitors can learn about their history.