OK after the shit fight of last weekend hopefully we return to some sort of normality this weekend.... a race without a Safety Car would be nice.
First the track..... that is after you have posted your tips. You know the form.... click on link below
viewtopic.php?f=17&t=17276
OK I think we all know it is not the Zandvoort that we all remembered. That goes back to 1948 for the first (pre championship) Dutch GP. In Championship terms Zandvoort previously hosted the Dutch Grand Prix between 1952 and 1985.
First thing I must throw in about the track is I had always been led to believe the track design was the work of John Hugenholtz, designer of Suzuka. Although he had ties to the circuit, it was actually a group of Dutch motorcyclist enthusiasts who designed the track with assistance from Sammy Davis, who won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1927. The track made use of communications roads built during the Second World War by the occupying German army. . The original 4.2km track had multiple elevation changes, and featured fast, sweeping turns, such as the fearsome Tarzan corner.....
We know 35 years after the last time It was set to return to the calendar in 2020..... thanks to huge local support for Dutch driver Max Verstappen. This plan was put on hold by a year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Now we are back to have another go.
For years now the Dutch fans have been bringing the party atmosphere with their "Orange Army" to Formula 1 in support of Max Verstappen, and now finally they have a race on home soil again.
The Netherlands has a population of 17.5 million, and the municipality of Zandvoort serves as one of the country's major beach resorts. It has a population of around 17,000.
Ahead of its Formula 1 return Circuit Zandvoort underwent a major transformation.
The biggest of those changes being the introduction of two banked corners.
The now 4.252 km-track has introduced banking to the iconic Hugenholtzbocht corner, while Arie Luyendijkbocht, the last corner of the lap, now features banking at 19 degrees, making it twice as steep as the banking seen at Indianapolis.
The circuit features 13 turns, and the firm in charge of redesigning the track, Dromo Circuit Design, said they wanted to emulate Eau Rouge and Raidillon at Spa, and Silverstone's fast-paced sweep of Maggots and Becketts as the fastest F1 cars to date are sent thundering around a new and improved Zandvoort.
First Grand Prix
1952. The 1952 and 1953 races were held to Formula 2 specifications, so it wasn’t until 1955 (no race in 1954) that F1 machinery first took on the challenges of the Zandvoort circuit
Number of Laps
72
Circuit Length
4.259km
Race Distance
306.648 km
Lap Record
null null (null)
When was the track built?
Like Silverstone, Zandvoort was first opened in 1948, part of the wave of post-war motorsport enthusiasm that swept across Europe. Originally made up of a mixture of permanent track and public roads that snaked through the sand dunes of the Zandvoort resort town, the Dutch Automobile Racing Club – who initiated the plans for the circuit – as mentioned, brought in 1927 Le Mans winner Sammy Davis to consult on the layout for the original 4.2km track.
When was its first Grand Prix?
Formula 1 arrived in the Dutch dunes in 1952, with Alberto Ascari dominating the race as he led home a 1-2-3 for Ferrari. Formula 1 would go on to race on and off at the track until 1985 – before, in 2019, the announcement came that the championship would return to Zandvoort for 2020, after a 35-year hiatus. The Covid-19 pandemic meant that became 36 years and a 2021 date.
What’s the circuit like?
‘Really quick’, ‘pretty insane’, ‘crazy’ and ‘old-school’ were words used by the current crop of F1 drivers when asked to describe the Zandvoort track that many of them tackled in their junior category days. We’d also add ‘undulating’ to that list. The Zandvoort track swoops and flows through the sand dunes, creating a rollercoaster-like feel to the lap. And while the circuit will be modernised in time for F1’s 2020 return – including increasing the banking angle at the famous Tarzan corner to an Indianapolis Motor Speedway-trumping 18 degrees – Zandvoort will remain a proper, challenging drivers’ track.
A lap of this new Zandvoort
Dutch Grand Prix F1 Circuit Information
or a lap with MaxAfter negotiating the first right-hander drivers will sweep through Turn 2 and be forced to negotiate some elevation changes through Turn 3 before arriving at the now banked Hugenholtzbocht corner.
A quick sweeping section follows for the drivers to blast through, before a double right-hander which could offer an overtaking spot for the brave.
Drivers must then bare left through a wide curved section, before braking hard into a right-to-left chicane.
It's then another right before arriving at the impressively reprofiled Arie Luyendijkbocht to launch competitors on to the main straight and begin the next lap of this historic circuit.
For years the Dutch fans followed Max Verstappen around the F1 calendar, but now they have a race of their own.
Turn 1 (Tarzan corner) - A tight right bend which presents a harsh breaking zone for drivers after that blast down the straight.
Turn 2 (Gerlach corner) - The track rises up into this slight right-hand bend, only a slight throttle lift in a modern F1 car.
Turn 3 (Hugenholtz corner) - Already an iconic turn, this sweeping but deceptively tight left now features banking to allow for different racing lines.
Turn 4 (Hunzerug) - A little left kink, no need to lift.
Turn 5 (Rob Slotemaker corner) - This time a right kink, again full throttle is the way to go.
Turn 6 (Scheivlak) - Hang on through this sweeping right, for those who don't, the gravel awaits.
Turn 7 (Masters corner, formerly Marlboro corner) - The kerb is tight for this right-hander but the widening track that follows encourages drivers to get the power down.
Turn 8 - But be careful, because a sharper right follows swiftly.
Turn 9 - After accelerating it's a dab of brakes again for this sweeping left that demands a lot from the front tyres.
Turn 10/11 - (Hans Ernst corner formerly Audi S corner) - A right-to-left chicane that presents an overtaking opportunity, but also the chance of disaster.
Turn 12 - (Kumho corner) - Take some pace into this right, but don't be too greedy, that gravel trap is unforgiving.
Turn 13 (Arie Luyendyk corner) - This flat out right has been transformed with 18-degrees banking, encouraging drivers to take different routes as they build up for the DRS-assisted straight.
Well, we have no form or recent history to talk of here so what to do.....? We have history at Zandvoort, but there has been no GPs here since 1985. But we had some great races here in the past and a number of memorable moments. We have had some good races too.
James Hunt won his first ever GP here in the Hesketh back in 1975.
Can you imagine the party afterwards....
Niki Lauda was his 25th and last ever GP at Zandvoort in his McLaren in 1985.
A great battle with his arch rival Alain Prost and some great defending from Lauda over a dozen laps at the end saw him win by 0.2 secs.
Hunt and Andretti took each other out fighting for the lead in 1977....
Hunt was out on the spot but Andretti continued until his engine blew. James was not happy. He stormed off to the Lotus pit to give Colin Chapman his full and frank assessment of Andretti’s driving ability.
Gilles Villeneuve thrilled us all with a lap in his three wheeler Ferrari in 1979.
Villeneuve had brilliantly fought his way into the lead of the 1979 Dutch Grand Prix after an audacious move on Alan Jones’ Williams around the outside of Tarzan. But with a slow puncture on his left-rear Michelin, he spun once in front of the Australian, recovered beautifully, then had to force his 312T4 into a second spin when its tyre exploded.
Undeterred as he sat off the track, Villeneuve found reverse, dragged himself back out of the mud and, with one arm raised to warn the drivers behind him, set about getting back to the Ferrari pits, one-handed and three-wheeled.
Title rivals Prost and Piquet clashed in 1983
Those moments are on this video....
Who has won the Dutch GP?
Driver Wins
CLARK Jim 4
STEWART Jackie 3
LAUDA Niki 3
ASCARI Alberto 2
BRABHAM Jack 2
HUNT James 2
PROST Alain 2
FANGIO Juan Manuel 1
MOSS Stirling 1
BONNIER Jo 1
von TRIPS Wolfgang 1
HILL Graham 1
RINDT Jochen 1
ICKX Jacky 1
ANDRETTI Mario 1
JONES Alan 1
PIQUET Nelson 1
PIRONI Didier 1
ARNOUX René 1
).[/rant] 
One of the few drivers who has raced in the 70s through to the 90s in F1.
