Ready for the Dutch GP?
Hey there, Pole-chaser! 👋
Missed the action? 🏎️ Good news: the summer break’s done and we’re in Zandvoort this weekend.
🚨 FP1 & FP2: Get up to speed with what’s happened on track during FP1 & FP2. Expect some surprises.
📢 Haas News Alert! They’ve spilled the beans on their 2024 line-up. Dive in below to find out who’s suiting up.
🚦 Qualifying 101: Think it’s just about speed? Think again! We’re breaking down the ins and outs of qualifying – why it’s more than just crossing the finish line first.
Race you to the next update!
In today’s email:
- Pit Stop Talks – Latest in-depth news ahead of Dutch GP
- In-depth education: Chasing Pole Position: F1 Qualifying Time!
- Fast Lane News – Want the latest F1 scoop? It’ll keep your racing heart happy all day.
- The Dutch GP – Tire and strategy info, track details, and more track details Lights out, and away we go!
Pit Stop Talks
Pit Stop Talks📊 Free Practice 1 review
🟠 McLaren’s new rear wing is looking good: the car (very draggy in the previous races) got the 3rd best top speed
🔴 Ferrari was fastest: efficient car + less loaded wing
🔵 Red Bull still 2nd best despite the max-load wing
⚫️ Mercedes looking draggy
Minisector analysis 📊
🔵 VER dominated the main straight (315km/h top speed, vs Aston’s 313 and Mercedes’ 308) and was competitive elsewhere
⚫️ HAM was fastest through ~45% of the lap: the W14 was excellent on the exit of most slow corners🛞
🟢 ALO quickest in several corners
📊 Free Practice 2 review
❌ Piastri & Ricciardo out – crashed in the 3rd corner.
🏎️ Fastest sectors on the circuit: Lando 👉 Max 👉 Charles
🙌 Boys are back for 2024
Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen are sticking around next season. Everyone saw it coming, especially after Team Principal Guenther Steiner hinted at it earlier.
Why this matters:
- The confirmation helps the team skip the long driver drama they had last season when they took till the last race to finalize things.
- Hulkenberg, who returned after three years, has been killing it! He even secured a second-place spot in the Canadian Grand Prix’s qualifying (though he later faced a grid penalty).
- Even though he’s been a bit off his game compared to his previous season, Magnussen has still racked up points for the team.
I think it’s safe to say that we’ve had an extremely solid driver pairing this season in Formula 1 and ultimately, there was no reason to look to change that moving forward.
In fact, together, they’ve pushed Haas to the eighth spot in the Constructors’ standings. – Read more
🌟 Rookie highlights for the F1 season
Why this matters: Every F1 team needs to have a rookie in at least two FP1 sessions this year.
A rookie, by the way, is someone who’s raced in less than two F1 GPs.
🔴 Ferrari: Robert Shwartzman drove the Ferrari at the Dutch GP. Shwartzman scored P19 in Zandvoort and will be back in Abu Dhabi.
🔵 Red Bull: They have a lot of junior drivers. Liam Lawson seems to be the top pick to drive. He’s gunning for the Super Formula title in Japan and has previously driven in Belgium and Mexico. But also watch out for Ayumu Iwasa, another potential pick, especially for the Suzuka race to delight Japanese fans.
⚫ Mercedes: Frederik Vesti will be driving in Mexico. We’ll probably see him again in Abu Dhabi. Vesti’s been doing well; he was even leading the F2 standings after the latest round in Belgium.
🟢 Aston Martin: Felipe Drugovich, last year’s F2 champ, joined the team’s driver program. He already subbed for Lance Stroll during pre-season testing, and we’ll see him twice this year, though probably not at his home round in Brazil.
🔵 Alpine: Jack Doohan, who drove in some FP1 sessions last year, is likely to be back. Even though he had a rocky start this F2 season, he’s bounced back recently. Another Alpine contender? Victor Martins. He’s just a spot behind Doohan in F2 standings and might get an FP1 nod.
🔴 Alfa Romeo: Théo Pourchaire is on the move towards F1. He’s leading the F2 right now and will probably jump into two FP1 sessions later this year. He stayed in F2 for a third season, and it looks like it was the right move.
⚫ Haas: Pietro Fittipaldi, who’s been with Haas for a bit, will likely fill in for the FP1 sessions again. Even though he’s already driven two F1 races, he still counts as a rookie.
👀Ferrari is still eyeing 2023
Fred Vasseur has shared that they’ll keep working on their SF-23 car this year. But don’t expect any big changes for the next races in the Netherlands and Italy.
It’s been a tough year for Ferrari, being fourth with 191 points. Their highlight? Charles Leclerc snagging second place in Austria.
While teams like Mercedes are already focusing on their 2024 cars, Ferrari is juggling between this year and the next.
We have still some upgrades to come before the end of the season, but the project for the ’24 car is a different project, and even if we have some carryover from one car to the other, the projects are completely different.
Here are other teams’ upgrades ahead of the Dutch GP:
🔵 Red Bull has a new beam wing spec to enhance wing performance.
🟠 McLaren has made changes to focus on straight-line speed and improve aerodynamics at Zandvoort.
#McLaren's new wing is a radical philosophy change!
The 'slot' in the endplate is removed, and the upper plane is now 'suspended'💡
🗒️Changes:
-Mainplane
-Flap
-EndplateThe team expects 'an increase in aerodynamic efficiency'📈
What are your expectations?👀#F1 #DutchGP pic.twitter.com/GJrSzvZI4g
— Formula Data Analysis (@FDataAnalysis) August 25, 2023
⚫ Haas is testing out a new front wing and nose to fix their tyre wear issues. They’ve also adjusted their rear brake ducts for better cooling.
🟢 Aston Martin got a revamped floor and diffuser. The changes aim to improve the car’s airflow and increase downforce.
⚫ Mercedes made some tweaks to the W14’s floor edge. The goal? To better the airflow to the car’s rear and boost rear downforce. They’ve also made changes to the sidepod mirror and a beam wing. – Read more
🏆 7 Records Verstappen and Red Bull might smash
Red Bull’s on fire this year! They’ve already crushed a few Formula 1 records. But there are still more on the horizon in 2023. Let’s dive into seven big ones:
1. Most back-to-back F1 wins
Verstappen’s gunning for the record of most consecutive wins. One wrong move can reset this, but he’s on the verge.
He’s at eight straight wins now, and with one more, he could beat Vettel’s 2013 record. Imagine if he does it at his home track in Zandvoort!
2. Max wins in a single season
Last year, Verstappen set a record with 15 wins. Now, with 10 wins already, he’s eyeing that record again. Red Bull, as a team, is also on track to beat Mercedes’ 2016 record of 19 wins possibly.
3. Most points in one F1 season
Verstappen’s got 314 points halfway through this season! He’s on track to blow past his 454-point record from last year. And with Perez also racking up points, Red Bull could also beat Mercedes’ team record of 765 points.
4. Biggest win margin in the championship
Vettel’s got the record with a 155-point lead in 2013. Verstappen’s chasing that with his current 125-point lead over Perez. And overall, Red Bull’s 256 points ahead of Mercedes, inching closer to the record 297-point gap.
5. Wins from different grid slots
Verstappen’s been mixing it up, winning from nine different start positions. He’s just one win away from beating Alonso’s record.
6. Most laps led in a season
He led 567 laps this year. If he keeps this up, he might lead 1000 laps in total! Red Bull has led 95% of the laps.
They could surpass Mercedes’ record if they keep it up, but the all-time record from Senna and Prost in 1988 is a tough one!
7. Straight podium finishes
Schumacher’s held onto this one since 2002 with 19 straight podiums. But Verstappen’s on a 13-podium streak since last year. If he continues, we might see a new record in Mexico.
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F1 Qualifying In-Depth Guide for 2023
F1 Qualifying In-Depth Guide for 2023Ever wondered why some F1 cars start at the front of the pack, and others look like they’ve been sent to the naughty corner?
Well, it’s not because they forgot to send a birthday card to the race director. It’s all down to qualifying.
Let’s put on our racing helmets and dive into the high-speed world of F1 qualifying.
READ THE ARTICLE HERE
Fast Lane News
Fast Lane News✋ Leclerc says F1 should cap races at 24 to look out for staff wellbeing. – Read more
⚖️ Hamilton addresses the 2008 legal issue with Massa. Hamilton won his first world title that year, beating Massa by just one point. – Read more
🏎️ Lando Norris thinks the current car design isn’t as good as the last one. – Read more
🦡 Daniel Ricciardo says he’s sticking with F1 for a few more years, feeling like his “Honey Badger” self from a decade ago, despite a recent change of heart. – Read more
🚕The Dutch Grand Prix is back on track after a potential disruption. About 150 taxi drivers from Zandvoort planned to block the circuit because they felt taxis from outside the town were given an unfair advantage.- Read more
🚅 Trains going to and from Zandvoort are called the Max Express this weekend. The Orange Army must be hyped. – via Reddit
💬 Toto Wolff talks about Lewis 2.0. – Read more
💥Piastri comments on his mom blowing up on social media thanks to his F1 achievements. – Read more
🤔 Carlos Sainz doesn’t think F1 should change things just because Red Bull is dominating fair and square. – Read more
🎙️ Alfa Romeo got a slap on the wrist because Valtteri Bottas was late for his media chat at the Dutch Grand Prix. – Read more
🥇Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton think Red Bull might just dominate F1 until 2026. – Read more
THE DUTCH GP
THE DUTCH GP🇳🇱 Scheduled 25-27 August
Circuit Zandvoort
TLDR;
1️⃣ Circuit length: 4.259 km
2️⃣ Number of laps: 72
3️⃣ Lap record: 1:11.097 Lewis Hamilton (2021)
4️⃣ Corners & DRS: 14 corners with 2 DRS zones
The Tyres at the Dutch Grand Prix:
- The Dutch Grand Prix will have: C1 – Hard ⚪️, C2 – Medium 🟡, and C3 – Soft 🔴.
Fun fact: this year’s C1 is softer than the ones used before. - They’ve used this combo for the last two years, ever since Zandvoort made a comeback to the race calendar.
- Traction and lateral grip are crucial ➡️ High-downforce, essential to preserve the rear-left tyre.
Last Year’s Strategy
Most drivers pulled in for three pit stops. Though on paper, stopping twice seems the fastest.
Last year, a late safety car allowed some drivers to pit and switch to the soft tires.
A Little About the Track
- Zandvoort can be a tough one to overtake because it’s narrow with a lot of turns. So, doing well in the qualifying rounds is key.
- The track is nestled between sand dunes right by the North Sea. Sometimes, the wind blows sand onto the track, which can mess with tire grip. This can also happen in Bahrain’s Sakhir track.
MEME OF THE DAY
MEME OF THE DAY
