5 things we learned from Friday training for the Dutch Grand Prix

Zandvoort rocked on Friday when fans – mostly from all over the Netherlands – came to the coastal track to welcome Formula 1 back to the coast for the first time in 36 years. And while her idol Max Verstappen didn’t top the table, he showed enough speed to suggest that he might well deliver the result his loyal Dutch army is hoping for. Here are five things we learned from running on Friday …

1. Zandvoort makes your heart beat faster

The drivers agreed that the Zandvoort old school facility with its 14 bends – three of them sloping – and the narrow lane received the seal of approval. “To be honest, it was pure pleasure to drive on this track,” said Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, who was third fastest on Friday. “It makes a lot of fun [on] banking, but also just the layout in general. “

READ MORE: ‘It’s Fun!’ – The drivers have their say in Zandvoort when the Dutch GP circuit returns after a 36-year hiatus

Pierre Gasly of AlphaTauri, who finished seventh, added: “It’s an amazing track to ride and very unique, especially Turn 3 – it’s like sliding in a toboggan with the lean angle.” And Valtteri Bottas, fourth Mercedes was in the lead, said: “There are many nice different corner sections here, especially the speed through the corners in sector three is nice, I enjoyed it. It’s a stretch with a nice flow, it is definitely not difficult to find the flow. “

2021 Dutch GP FP2: Onboard for Charles Leclerc’s fastest lap

The streets surrounding the track were covered in a sea of ​​orange from the moment the sun rose, with fans standing six or seven people down at the gates to catch a glimpse of the drivers before they hit the Track raved about where they were given free orange lion cloaks and greeted by a festival atmosphere.

They were in full voice all day, cheering Verstappen every time he drove by. And they stayed long after the track action and enjoyed the dance anthems on the PA system. The love for this event is undoubtedly great – and not just because there is a Stroopwafel stand in the paddock …

HIGHLIGHTS: All the action from the second training session for the Dutch GP in Zandvoort

On Friday there was Max Verstappen fever – even more fans are expected at the weekend

2. Red Bull maintains qualification advantage …

Verstappen was the best-placed Red Bull in fifth, but he had to abandon his flying lap when the red flag came out after Nikita Mazepin stranded his Haas in the gravel.

The Dutchman, who is three points behind world championship leader Lewis Hamilton, looked super committed on the 4.3 km long track and immediately at home – and expected that he would have fought for the top spot if he had made his lap on fresh softs .

READ MORE: Verstappen says he led FP2 at Zandvoort without a red flag

“There are just a few things that we need to understand better in order to get a little more pace,” he said. “It’s not very representative either, because my lap was on a used set and the lap that I had to cancel would have been enough for the first one in my opinion. Then of course you talk a little differently. It’s never perfect, so we’ll always try to look into details to see what we can do better. “

The good news for Verstappen, his Red Bull team, and around 65,000 people who packed the car on Friday – and will do so every day for the rest of the weekend – is that our data suggests they are the fastest Have low fuel cars, if only 0.04 s ahead of Mercedes.

3. But Mercedes leads the race pace

This wasn’t the smoothest day for Mercedes, and Lewis Hamilton in particular, as the reigning seven-time world champion only drove three laps in FP2 after losing power. His team-mate Bottas had a cleaner session, but was still 0.230 seconds behind the pace set by Ferrari. And that means they have a lot of work to do to get the car into the right window.

“We had a difficult day with red flags that cost us a lot of running time in the first session, and then Lewis had a problem with his car, so we had to stop on the track,” said Mercedes track manager Andrew Shovlin. “Everyone struggled with a lack of walking, so there wasn’t a lot of data to work with, and many had low-fuel trips that were hampered by traffic. So we have to expect that many teams will make progress tomorrow.

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“We’re struggling a bit with Turns 2-3, we seem to be losing there on both low and high fuel, but we have a little time tonight to understand that. There are a few other places we can improve balance, but overall it doesn’t seem too far off. We have to take a break from running with Lewis, but there is still time for that in the morning. “

4. Ferrari and Alpine cause a stir

It’s not often these days that Ferraris are top two on the timesheet, but that’s exactly what the Italian team in the Netherlands managed to do, with Charles Leclerc at the helm of Carlos Sainz in the last hour-long session of the day. It is a significant improvement on their form in Belgium, where they were fast midfield.

READ MORE: Leclerc is hoping for a surprise in the Dutch Grand Prix qualifying after Ferrari’s top FP2

Although they were satisfied with their performance, neither of them let themselves be carried away. “We seem to be in the pace, definitely better than Spa. I think Mercedes and Red Bull are still faster, especially when you look at the long runs you could clearly see the red flag in the middle that didn’t allow them to set the lap on the track and maybe got us Make it look faster, ”said Sainz.

“Country [Norris] is also quick in the McLaren, I expect another good fight with the McLaren, Mercedes and Red Bull seem to be still ahead, but maybe a little closer on this track than we have been lately. “

Leclerc added, “Yeah definitely, it looked a little better on paper than Spa, but we’re looking very good right now. I’m pretty sure the top teams have a bit more, but we look good compared to our direct competitors. “

READ MORE: Ocon says he found “near perfect balance” after reaching P3 in second practice session at Zandvoort

The red cars look strong in both a lap and race sims, with Ferrari finishing third on both metrics, 0.22 seconds and 0.37 seconds behind pace, respectively. If they show that kind of form on Saturday they’ll have a very strong position in the battle with McLaren for third place in the constructors’ championship.

Their closest rivals are Alpine based on the data, with the French team finishing two cars in the top six, with Ocon in third and Fernando Alonso in sixth. They are only a fraction slower than Ferrari in qualifying trim – 0.04 seconds – and 0.05 seconds behind the race pace. So Q3 and solid items should be high on the agenda this weekend.

5. Traffic and standstill pose a challenge

As overtaking at Zandvoort will likely be a challenge, qualifying will be even more important. So expect the teams to put special emphasis on fuel-efficient driving on softer tires in the last practice session on Saturday.

READ MORE: Vettel is grateful for previous experience at Zandvoort after the engine problem went down on the first day

Qualifying itself is going to be a busy affair with everyone struggling with traffic and finding the magical window in the open air to get the most out of their machines. The stops with the red flag did not help either, as the drivers had the rhythm and the journeys with fresh tires were disrupted. And given the space, it may take a little longer for things to get going again.

That said, we could see some big names dropping out early in qualifying while the gravel taps and imposing walls that line the track will punish mistakes. But the overall mood around the paddock is that Zandvoort is a hit and there is great anticipation for the upcoming weekend.