Homeboy Max Verstappen was able to maintain his lead over the Mercedes duo by leading the last practice session at the Dutch GP. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton’s lack of running haunted him in FP2 as the Brit looked almost colorless throughout the F1 session.
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Nonetheless, unlike in the past, Verstappen and Hamilton are not the only front runners in pole position at Zandvoort, because midfield teams like Ferrari and Alpine are certainly up there too.
Another interesting factor to look forward to is the red flag. Every single session of the current race weekend, including FP3, has seen at least one red flag. And the trend could continue into qualifying on Saturday.
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How the F1 session developed
Unsurprisingly, Kubica was the first rider to step on the track after replacing the COVID-infested Raikkonen a few hours before the session. The first lap of pole of the weekend ended 1: 15: 854 on a set of soft tires.
Formula 1 F1 – Dutch Grand Prix – Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort, Netherlands – September 4th, 2021 Alfa Romeo’s Robert Kubica during practice REUTERS / Benoit Tessier
A short time later, Hamilton scored a 1: 12: 010 and moved up to P1. But it was a rough lap indeed, going deeper into a couple of corners including Turn 12 and kicking up mud. Finally, 20 minutes after the start of the session, Fernando Alonso was the fastest in front of the Ferrari duo with a 1: 11: 705.
Then came the red flags caused by Sainz’s high-speed crash around the entrance to Turn 3. After a 10-minute delay, the session resumed and Verstappen finally managed to get his first FP3 lap on the board .
Formula 1 F1 – Dutch Grand Prix – Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort, Netherlands – September 4th, 2021 Alpine Esteban Ocon during practice REUTERS / Benoit Tessier
The Dutchman was initially 0.008 seconds slower than the provisional leader Bottas. On the second flying lap, however, Verstappen managed to drive a 1:10: 702 as the fastest, despite the tire disadvantage for the Finn.
Soft tire run – qualifying sim
Verstappen drove a dazzling lap on the soft tires – 1: 09: 623. The lap time was over half a second slower than the second-placed Bottas. Behind the duo was Hamilton, who ended up 0.8 seconds behind the Dutchman’s pace. Perez took P4 despite being almost a second slower than his team-mate.
Formula 1 F1 – Dutch Grand Prix – Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort, Netherlands – September 4th, 2021 Alpine Esteban Ocon during practice REUTERS / Piroschka Van De Wouw
Then came the midfield cars from Alonso, Norris, Stroll, Vettel, Leclerc and Gasly. But the difference between Alonso on P5 and Giovinazzi on P15 was a little more than 0.5s.
Interruptions during FP3 at the Dutch GP
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After 22 minutes, Sainz took the red flags. The Spaniard finally lost the rear of the car, drove into banked turn 3 and rammed his Ferrari into the crash barriers.
Formula 1 F1 – Dutch Grand Prix – Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort, Netherlands – September 4th, 2021 Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz Jr. during practice REUTERS / Piroschka Van De Wouw
There was significant damage to the front and rear of the car, including a possible blow to the chassis, transmission, and power unit. So the Ferrari mechanics have a daunting task to repair the car in one piece.
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Overall, the practice runs are over and the focus is now on qualifying, which is due in less than a few hours. So who will take the decisive pole position later that afternoon in Zandvoort?
View history: Ferrari strategy fails that we will never forget
The post Verstappen dominates against Mercedes F1, while the misery at FP2 continues to haunt Hamilton first appeared on monter-une-startup.
