Back on the calendar for the first time since 1985, Zandvoort was awash with orange as the home crowd came out in force to support Max Verstappen.
While not the greatest race, there was still some good action. Most importantly, and to the delight of the Orange Army, it saw Verstappen retake the championship lead after a six-point swing on title rival Lewis Hamilton.
1st. Max Verstappen – 10
It was never in doubt.
Probably the calmest Dutchman at the circuit all weekend, Max Verstappen dealt with the pressure of his home Grand Prix superbly to take his seventh win of the season.
From FP3 onwards, he was by far and away the fastest driver on track, and deservedly took the win after dealing with everything Mercedes threw at him on Sunday.
2nd. Lewis Hamilton – 9
There wasn’t much more that Lewis Hamilton could have done to try and get ahead of Max Verstappen’s Red Bull.
In his mirrors all race, the Dutchman was just too fast for the Mercedes driver, as Hamilton admitted in his post-race interview.
With a race in Monza this week, however, a track that the Silver Arrows have historically done well at, the 36-year-old will be confident of overturning his own three-point deficit at the top of the championship.
3rd. Valtteri Bottas – 7.5
The theme of his time at Mercedes so far, especially this season, Valtteri Bottas just didn’t have the pace of Hamilton and Verstappen in front.
Having failed to keep Verstappen behind for more than one lap after Mercedes had extended his first stint, there was also the drama of the fastest lap point, the Finn told to abort his lap by the Mercedes pit wall.
Still, well ahead of the second Red Bull of Sergio Perez, Bottas banked vital points for Mercedes in their pursuit of an 8th consecutive Constructors’ title.
4th. Pierre Gasly – 10
Like many who watch F1, Pierre Gasly was left wondering why Red Bull had overlooked him in favour of Sergio Perez for next season after qualifying 4th on Saturday.
The sixth time he has qualified in the top six this season, three more than Perez, the Frenchman backed this up with a brilliant drive on Sunday, the high point being his overtake on Fernando Alonso round the outside of turn 1.
Never in trouble from Leclerc behind, fourth was the best Gasly could have achieved.
5th. Charles Leclerc – 9
A good haul of points from Charles Leclerc saw him get back ahead of teammate Carlos Sainz in the championship standings.
A quiet race for the Monegasque, he didn’t quite have the pace of those in front of him but was never in danger from those behind.
6th. Fernando Alonso – 9.5
The wily Spaniard strikes again.
A brilliant start saw Fernando Alonso gain two positions on the opening lap, the only driver in the top 10 to do so.
From there, he managed his tyres and his race superbly to be on the gearbox of Carlos Sainz come the end of the race, before overtaking his compatriot on the final lap to secure his third top-six result of the season.
7th. Carlos Sainz – 8
Carlos Sainz recovered well from his FP3 crash to score some solid points for Ferrari.
Rightfully thankful to his team for fixing his car in time for qualifying, the Spaniard was only one one-hundredth of a second behind his teammate on Saturday.
While he didn’t quite have the same pace on Sunday, the Spaniard still finished well ahead of both McLarens as the Scuderia leapfrogged the British manufacturer in the Constructors’ standings.
8th. Sergio Perez – 7.5
Where would Sergio Perez be in the championship if he had the same pace on Saturdays as he does on Sundays?
It wasn’t only his fault for being knocked out in Q1 this weekend, the Mexican missing the opportunity to complete a second lap after encountering heavy traffic in the pitlane.
He somewhat made up for his poor qualifying in the race, though, producing a series of great overtakes to provide the most entertainment of anyone on track.
9th. Esteban Ocon – 8
After outqualifying his teammate on Saturday, Esteban Ocon would have been disappointed to see Fernando Alonso overtake him on the first lap.
Despite complaining in the early stages of the race that the Spaniard was slow ahead of him, Ocon didn’t quite have the same pace, Alonso managing his tyres better to soon pull away.
Still, a fourth consecutive points finish for the Hungarian Grand Prix winner represents a good result.
10th. Lando Norris – 7
By the standards Lando Norris has set this season, this weekend was a bit of a disappointment.
Being outqualified by his teammate after failing to progress to Q3 for the first time this year, the McLaren driver had decent pace in the race to score the final point.
That was probably the best both he and McLaren could have hoped for this weekend after a relative lack of pace to the other teams.
11th. Daniel Ricciardo – 6.5
Things were looking up for Daniel Ricciardo after getting into Q3 and outqualifying his teammate for the second consecutive race.
Yet his struggles returned on Sunday. Bemoaning both his strategy and a lack of pace, the Aussie was understandably disappointed to finish outside of the points, saying he couldn’t have achieved much more than he did.
12th. Lance Stroll – 7.5
The first of the drivers to finish two laps down, Lance Stroll’s whole weekend was effectively compromised by the Williams team.
Failing to set a second lap time in Q2 because of Nicholas Latifi’s crash, the Canadian was then stuck behind George Russell for much of the race, not quite having the pace to overtake.
13th. Sebastian Vettel – 6.5
Although he admitted that his Aston Martin didn’t have the pace to match other teams, Sebastian Vettel was slightly unlucky to have been knocked out in Q1 on Saturday, both Haas drivers blocking his final run.
It was always going to be a difficult race for Vettel thereafter. The German, to his credit, did gain three positions. However, another spin when trying to overtake the Alfa Romeo of Robert Kubica at turn 3 was reminiscent of his time with Ferrari.
14th. Antonio Giovinazzi – 7.5
A case of what might have been for Antonio Giovinazzi.
A brilliant qualifying saw the Italian match his best ever Formula 1 starting position of seventh.
After a difficult start in which he lost three positions, however, his race was ruined when a puncture not long after his first pit stop forced him to come in for another set of fresh tyres.
A mixed weekend for the 27-year-old then as he tries to keep his seat on the grid for next year.
15th. Robert Kubica – 7.5
A late call up after Kimi Raikkonen tested positive for Covid, Robert Kubica can be proud of his efforts at Zandvoort.
Indeed, finishing ahead of both Williams drivers, the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix winner called it his best F1 race in 11 years.
If Raikkonen is still not able to race this weekend, he may even be on the grid once again.
16th. Nicholas Latifi – 6.5
A crash in qualifying forced Nicholas Latifi to start from the pitlane.
There were still some high points in the race, most notably beating teammate George Russell for the second time in three races.
His move around the outside of Nikita Mazepin at turn 1 was also beautiful, and got the seal of approval from Jenson Button on commentary.
17th. George Russell – 6.5
After the high of Belgium last weekend, George Russell was brought back down to earth with a bit of a bang at Zandvoort.
He had looked as though he would get into Q3 for the fourth time this season, before a crash at the penultimate corner forced him to start from 11th.
Not having the pace of the top 10 but valiantly keeping the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll behind him, he held onto that position for much of the race before a mechanical issue forced him to retire two laps from the end.
Russell won’t be too concerned though, with the announcement that Bottas has signed for Alfa Romeo making his move to Mercedes imminent.
18th. Mick Schumacher – 6.5
It was a bit of a lonely race at the back of the grid for Mick Schumacher.
His Haas not having the pace to compete higher up, there was still time to have yet another clash with teammate Nikita Mazepin before the Russian’s retirement.
Indeed, Schumacher said following the race that his relationship with Mazepin was beyond repair following the Russian’s attempt to run him into the pit wall.
Frosty.
