New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\nSince 2021 Verstappen\u2019s famous orange army of fans have piled between the dunes and danced to EDM for four days straight. Their Dutch hero won the first three races, prompting celebrations that would last deep into the night.<\/p>\n
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri won the next two events \u2014 suitably for the orange-clad team \u2014 and celebrations went deep into the night anyway.<\/p>\n
For whom will they be celebrating at their final party this weekend?<\/p>\n
Can Piastri claw back ground on Norris? | 02:30<\/p>\n
DOES McLAREN HAVE THE MOMENTUM?<\/p>\n
Despite the team and both drivers being distant in both championship fights, McLaren arrives in Zandvoort in red-hot form, having dominated the Hungarian Grand Prix after a game-changing upgrade package.<\/p>\n
The team has more updates this weekend, and with Zandvoort being similar in layout to the Hungaroring, the expectations are that the team could have another strong weekend.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s also the defending Dutch Grand Prix winner \u2014 and it\u2019s Piastri who reigns.<\/p>\n
Piastri was unstoppable here last year, when he looked at the peak of his powers, and a retirement for the already beaten Norris earned Piastri his season-high 34-point lead.<\/p>\n
You would never have predicted then that it would have been Piastri\u2019s last win to date.<\/p>\n
But the victory drought isn\u2019t the full story.<\/p>\n
McLaren has won only three races since then \u2014 all with Norris; twice last year and in Hungary this season \u2014 and Piastri has had his chances. He came within a safety car of winning in Japan, and he led the first stint in Budapest before a strategy bungle and, then, unreliability took him out of the race.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t really weigh on me much,\u201d he said of his 12-month victory drought. \u201cThere\u2019s been a couple of opportunities since then.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think Hungary we felt close for the majority of that race. Obviously from a pace point of view it wasn\u2019t the best of weekends, but Hungary is one of the tracks where you can get away with being a bit off the pace, and if you do other things right, then you can win the race, and that\u2019s certainly where I feel like I was.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like I\u2019ve got some good answers on the things I wanted to improve from Hungary, and I\u2019ll try and put that into action here.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a good weekend here last year. If we can replicate that, we\u2019ll have a very good weekend. Let\u2019s see what we\u2019ve got this weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n
McLaren says the upgrades this weekend \u201ccomplete\u201d the package it brought to Hungary, and Norris said it left him uncharacteristically with \u201cquite a bit\u201d of confidence about the team\u2019s chances this weekend.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m never the guy who gets too far ahead of myself, so I\u2019m not going to come in here thinking that we should just win the race again,\u201d he said. \u201cBut our goals are set high, so we want to believe we can.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just need to understand if it\u2019s just brought performance everywhere, every track, every type of surface, all types of corners, whether it was more specific to there.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut it was clear we took a step forward, and that\u2019s a good sign. We still want to believe we can be very competitive here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Piastri’s proposed exit a costly one | 02:21<\/p>\n
CAN YUKI TSUNODA MAKE HIS CAMEO COUNT?<\/p>\n
Yuki Tsunoda was lying on a beach in Greece when his phone rang.<\/p>\n
Formula 1 was probably the furthest thing from his mind as he soaked in the Mediterranean sun \u2014 in fact speculation has recently linked him to a vacant seat in IndyCar for next season.<\/p>\n
But it was Formula 1 that was suddenly calling.<\/p>\n
Isack Hadjar had injured his wrist. Liam Lawson would be stepping up from Racing Bulls to Red Bull Racing to cover him.<\/p>\n
Tsunoda\u2019s services were needed to fill Lawson\u2019s absence.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I heard, I was like half excited, half still doubtful because anything can happen, but I was super excited too,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
That was Tuesday. By Wednesday he was locked in.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m super excited, and physically I\u2019m feeling ready,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve done a couple of [private tests in old cars].<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will be my first time in this car, but still, I\u2019m very excited.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite interrupting his Greek training holiday, the timing couldn\u2019t have been better for the 26-year-old.<\/p>\n
Axed after an underwhelming 22 races with Red Bull Racing last season, Tsunoda\u2019s Formula 1 journey seemed at an end. Though he\u2019s been connected to Esteban Ocon\u2019s at-risk Haas drive, more recently he\u2019s believed to have been shuffled down the shortlist by Ferrari junior driver Rafael C\u00e2mara.<\/p>\n
But no contracts have been signed yet, and now Tsunoda has a card his rival candidates can\u2019t match: a live demonstration of his abilities.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s definitely a good opportunity,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s no better time than this. It\u2019s always better to drive and show what I can do, rather than just talk. I know what I can do, but it\u2019s always hard to show that or prove that without driving.\u201d<\/p>\n
But the task is a difficult one.<\/p>\n
Tsunoda has no experience in a current Formula 1 car and only simulator experience of this year\u2019s complex engines.<\/p>\n
This weekend is also a sprint round, meaning he\u2019ll have only one practice session to acclimatise before being thrown into sprint qualifying.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not ideal, but it\u2019s a hell of a lot more than he had to work with just last week \u2014 and after months on the sidelines, he\u2019s champing at the bit just to get behind the wheel.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince the season started I\u2019ve been dying to be in the car and compete with the drivers,\u201d he said. \u201cI think this moment I will just enjoy, and obviously give my 100 per cent performance. Hopefully that will bring some good results.\u201d<\/p>\n
Will Piastri close the gap to Lando? | 11:04<\/p>\n
LIAM LAWSON\u2019S SHOT AT REDEMPTION<\/p>\n
Tsunoda isn\u2019t the only driver in this line-up shuffle with a chance to prove something.<\/p>\n
Lawson\u2019s unexpected promotion to Red Bull Racing for the weekend could be critical for the New Zealander\u2019s career too.<\/p>\n
Lawson, and not Tsunoda, has been chosen for the task deliberately.<\/p>\n
He has more experience with these complex engines than Tsunoda as well as with the regulations. He\u2019s also in good form, whereas Tsunoda hasn\u2019t raced since his scoreless 14th-place finish in Abu Dhabi last season.<\/p>\n
The Kiwi gives the senior Red Bull team a better chance of scoring heavily than Tsunoda, at least on paper.<\/p>\n
But from his perspective, it\u2019s a critical opportunity to right the wrong of last year\u2019s axing after just two weekends.<\/p>\n
Lawson has spoken openly about feeling set up to fail last year. His preseason was interrupted, the car was in a poor place in the opening two rounds at circuits he\u2019d never raced at, and he said the team had given him some wildly experimental set-ups that exacerbated his gap to Verstappen.<\/p>\n
Then he was mercilessly dumped after just two weekends \u2014 and Tsunoda\u2019s limp performances in the seat proved there was a lot more to it than driver underperformance.<\/p>\n
Lawson has since struck impressive form at Racing Bulls, where he\u2019s been the backbone of the team\u2019s pursuit of a historic fifth place in the championship, but that two-race stint is still counting against his career.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s true in the Red Bull program, which has never given a driver a second shot at RBR, but also in the broader F1 environment, where drivers only ever get one chance to shoot their shot at a top team, regardless of the circumstances.<\/p>\n
No-one is expecting Lawson to match Verstappen at Verstappen\u2019s home track in his first outing with the team this season, but if he can perform respectably, it will go some way to repairing some of that reputational damage.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve had a lot of races since then in Formula 1 as well, so I\u2019ve learned a huge amount, and I\u2019d like to try and take as much of that into this weekend as I can,\u201d Lawson said, per Racer. \u201cIt\u2019s for sure going to be interesting.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s in some ways exciting to be given an opportunity like this, but for me I feel like I\u2019ve done a good job this year. Over the season it\u2019s been strong \u2014 we\u2019re in a good position in the championship.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d love to try and maximise that weekend and keep that consistency running, even if it\u2019s in a different car.\u201d<\/p>\n
As steep as the challenge is \u2014 don\u2019t underestimate the difficulty of switching cars, never mind on a sprint weekend \u2014 Lawson has form here.<\/p>\n
Three years ago he was called up to Racing Bulls, at the time called AlphaTauri, on Saturday morning to cover Daniel Riccairdo, who had broken his hand in a practice crash.<\/p>\n
In treacherous and mixed conditions, he finished a commendable 13th \u2014 ahead of teammate Tsunoda, albeit due to a penalty for the Japanese driver.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s got to be number one toughest weekend ever, and I would hope that this is not tougher than that, but it\u2019s going to be tricky for sure,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut obviously I\u2019m grateful to have had those experiences in the past as well. I think they sort of help build you for something like this.\u201d<\/p>\n
“Angry on your behalf!” Brown opens up | 17:12<\/p>\n
IS HAMILTON OR RUSSELL ANTONELLI\u2019S CLOSEST CHALLENGER?<\/p>\n
Whether McLaren can genuinely play itself into the championship remains to be seen, but Mercedes vs Ferrari looks achingly close to being the real deal.<\/p>\n
Andrea Kimi Antonelli has a healthy 50-point lead over Lewis Hamilton and a 59-point advantage over teammate George Russell, while Mercedes is 72 points ahead of Ferrari.<\/p>\n
But Ferrari has won as many races as Mercedes in the last five events. Some believe it has the better chassis, and its engine upgrade due at the next race in Monza could go some way to equalising the kilowatts disparity too.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, this weekend\u2019s Zandvoort circuit should suit the car, being less sensitive to power.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not definitive yet, but the sense is that Ferrari is moving forwards.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think hopefully we\u2019re going to continue to progress in development,\u201d Hamilton said, per the F1 website. \u201cThe team are working really hard, and I think we\u2019ve got our first little step this weekend, which I\u2019m really grateful for.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone is under a huge amount of pressure to bring parts, as every team is, but we are going in the right direction with the car.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just focus on doing our job the best we can. I think we can do a better job in the second half, so that\u2019s the goal.\u201d<\/p>\n
But by rights we should be talking about George Russell before considering Ferrari. In equal machinery to Antonelli but with more experience, he should be presenting a formidable opposition.<\/p>\n
The first half of his season was poor, however, afflicted by a combination of disappointing pace, bad luck and costly errors.<\/p>\n
He said he managed to switch off completely from F1 during the break, which he hopes will help to reset his fortunes.<\/p>\n
But with 12 grands prix in 15 weekends, he won\u2019t have a chance to build himself into the fight. He must hit the ground running lest time run out first.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery race weekend now is going to be very important,\u201d he said. \u201cYou want to build that momentum.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to overthink it too much. I just want to trust in my ability and drive a little bit more instinctively, and maybe that\u2019s what I hadn\u2019t been doing before the break \u2014 just going in with an open mind and see where it takes me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just taking it race by race. I know I need to improve the performance if I want to be in the fight, so that\u2019s the main priority. If the performance improves, then the points reduce, and it\u2019s as simple as that, really.\u201d<\/p>\n
“This has opened a can of worms!” | 09:44<\/p>\n
HONDA\u2019S TURNAROUND STARTS HERE<\/p>\n
Near the back of the grid \u2014 or will it be? \u2014 Aston Martin is preparing to take another step forward this weekend.<\/p>\n
Fresh off its massive upgrade package in Hungary, which got Fernando Alonso into Q2 for the first time this season, this weekend Honda will bring its only engine upgrade of the year \u2014 what it\u2019s describing as a spec-2 motor.<\/p>\n
It broke in the engine during a testing day in Budapest just before the midseason break, and though no data was made public, reports are that the upgrade met all of its objectives and that both Honda and Aston Martin were satisfied.<\/p>\n
Honda has steadfastly refused to talk in kilowatts gained or potential lap time improvements \u2014 dangerous ground given this year\u2019s underperformance relative to expectations \u2014 but it has talked about significant hardware changes that go to reliability and drivability.<\/p>\n
Improving both of those characteristics comes with power gains too \u2014 a reliable engine can be run harder, and a more drivable engine can be run harder more easily.<\/p>\n
However, chief engineer Shintaro Orihara has cautioned that the gains may not be fully realised this weekend given the big changes will need adjusting to, and teams have only one practice session to work with.<\/p>\n
Team boss Adrian Newey said the team would have more aerodynamic upgrades ready for this weekend and again next month.<\/p>\n
If it all goes to plan, Aston Martin\u2019s trajectory could become the steepest of any team this year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On Sunday night the blaring loudspeakers of Circuit Zandvoort will fall silent for the final time. Formula 1\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":713361,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[573],"tags":[64,63,817,813,816,85],"class_list":["post-862731","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-f1","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/862731","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=862731"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/862731\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/713361"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=862731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=862731"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=862731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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