Dutch Grand Prix

Fernando masters the conditions to take P2Fernando masters the conditions to take P2

2023 season

FernandoAlonso

2nd

RACE POSITION

3rd

DRIVER STANDING

Fernando's profile

LanceStroll

11th

RACE POSITION

9th

DRIVER STANDING

Lance's profile

High drama amid the dunes of Zandvoort as rain comes, goes, and comes again. Fernando holds his nerve to take second place at the same venue where Aston Martin made its Formula One debut in 1959.

2023 season

Dutch Grand Prix race stats

5.5

Number of pitstops

Longest stint (laps)

Total laps

306.5

Total kilometres

FernandoAlonso

2nd

Final position

5th

Starting position

Positions

Points

LanceStroll

11th

Final position

11th

Starting position

Positions

Points

Fastest lapM:S.MS

1:13.837

Fernando

1:15.171

Lance

Max speedKM/H

323.1

Fernando

311

Lance

Practice laps

Fernando

Lance

Qualifying laps

Fernando

Lance

Race laps

Fernando

Lance

Total laps

169

Fernando

142

Lance

Dutch Grand Prix

The Debrief by Aramco

Fernando scores our seventh podium of the season in a rollercoaster Grand Prix at Zandvoort after rain, Safety Cars and a red flag.

Need to know: Netherlands

Toggle below to highlight parts of the track.

Sectors
Turns
DRS

Talking points

Fresh from the summer break, Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One® Team Technical Director Dan Fallows talks upgrades, practice programmes and our objectives this weekend at the Dutch Grand Prix.

Why is the summer shutdown so important for us?

"The summer shutdown was a unique opportunity to switch phones and emails off and take a proper break, given how stressful and busy the season can be.

"It's important for everyone in the team to shut off for a bit, relax and recharge, and now we're ready to keep pushing forward in the second part of the campaign."

As we embark on the second part of the season, how do you reflect on the performance of the team, Lance and Fernando so far?

"Our team has executed the season incredibly well so far and both our drivers have driven extremely well.

"In Fernando, Lance has a team-mate who is an exceptional driver and who has shown his ability from the outset of this season.

"Considering the injuries Lance sustained from his cycling accident pre-season and his determined recovery, he's performed very well alongside a formidable team-mate.

"Both drivers have been absolutely critical in helping us understand where the car needs to be improved."

We've been working tirelessly to develop our understanding of the AMR23. We believe we now have a good understanding of the car's weaknesses and we're taking steps to address them.
Dan Fallows-Technical Director

What will Free Practice entail at Zandvoort?

"Free Practice is essential to see how the tyres behave and degrade on long runs and on Qualifying runs.

"However, we have to balance our limited practice time between understanding the behaviour of the tyres and evaluating our upgrades – and we have aerodynamic upgrades to test at Zandvoort.

"To achieve this balance, we have a baseline practice programme that we run at every Grand Prix, which we adjust accordingly to allow sufficient time for aerodynamic tests."

What if it rains on Friday or Saturday?

"Rain during Free Practice will make our job harder, as we will have to make a call on whether our upgrades work based on less running.

"As much as we want to run as many laps as possible in the rain, we have to weigh up the risk of running in inclement weather with the return that we'll get in data.

"We want to minimise the chance of damaging parts and if we believe the chance of an incident is too high, we'll elect to keep our drivers in the garage."

What's our objective this weekend?

"We’ve been working tirelessly to develop our understanding of the AMR23. We believe we now have a good understanding of the car's weaknesses and we’re taking steps to address them. We hope that the performance of the car at Zandvoort, with our latest updates, will confirm we are heading in the right direction and help Lance and Fernando fight for points this weekend."

Cognizant

Insight and Speed

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Race interruptions

Mistakes can be costly at Zandvoort due to its banked corners with minimal run-off areas and punishing gravel traps. Red flags can be a common sight in practice sessions as drivers explore the limits of the track, and last year's race saw a Virtual Safety Car and Safety Car deployment.

Overtaking

Passing isn't easy at Zandvoort – the 2021 and 2022 Dutch Grands Prix averaged just 20 passes per race. The run to Turn One is the best opportunity while the second, shorter DRS zone between Turns 10 and 11 also provides opportunities to make a move.

Strategy

In a caution-free race, a one-stop strategy is competitive given the high loss of time when pitting. The VSC and Safety Car pushed the field into a multi-stop strategy last year and strategy will need to be adapted on the fly if that happens again this season. Like last year, Pirelli has provided the C1, C2 and C3 compound tyres.

Aramco

Powered by How

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How do banked corners affect the car and driver?

Zandvoort is a unique track in that Turns One, Three, 13 and 14 are steeply banked. Thanks to the positive camber of the corners – with the surface sloping down towards the cornering direction – cars can take these turns at higher speeds.

While friction is higher at high speeds, drivers need to put in less steering angle to take the banked corners at Zandvoort and therefore, there isn't a markedly different effect on tyre wear at the track.

Banked corners present a dilemma to drivers, as there are multiple racing lines that they can take through the tilted turns. During practice, you might see drivers experimenting with different lines. They'll need to exercise caution; the barriers are looming to punish any mistakes.

SentinelOne

Unlocking the Lap

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A lap of Zandvoort begins with a short run to Turn One, where drivers hug the inside line and get on the power early towards the banked left-hander that is Turn Three. It’s all about getting a good exit onto the following straight for Turns Four and Five, which are flat out.

Turn Seven requires a small lift off the throttle and sparing use of the exit kerbs, which can throw the car off balance under acceleration. Turn Eight is another rapid right-hander that signals the start of a low-speed sequence.

Trail-braking into Turn Nine, drivers are briefly back on the throttle before reaching Turn 10 which leads into the second DRS zone of the lap and a hard-braking zone into Turns 11 and 12. The lap concludes with a cambered right-hander at Turn 13 and a steeply banked, flat-out final corner that sees drivers accelerate down the start-finish straight.

NetApp

Cloud Report

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We're at the peak of the European summer but there's rain on the cards at Zandvoort. Here is the forecast presented with our Global Partner NetApp, a global hybrid cloud storage partner with solutions that perform across a diverse environment, allowing us to gain insights on weather-related data as well as telemetry data.

There's a strong likelihood that teams and drivers will encounter scattered showers this weekend. For Friday's pair of practice sessions there is a small chance of rain as temperatures range from 16 degrees Celsius to a high of 21 degrees Celsius.

Saturday will see a small dip in temperatures but an increased chance of showers for Free Practice Three. The chance of rain subsides for Qualifying, which is currently set to take place in dry conditions and with a moderate breeze in the air.

On Sunday, it might not be as wet as the previous two days but there is a small chance of rain affecting the race at this early stage.

XPerience Points

Discover XP

In Formula One, you're constantly learning. Every lap, every mile, every second, is an opportunity to further your understanding and, ultimately, discover ways to unlock performance. In partnership with XP Inc., here are some of the key points for the Dutch Grand Prix.

0.0145

The average pole position margin in seconds at Zandvoort over the last two races, reflecting just how short the lap is and how tight Qualifying can be.

The opening corner, Tarzan, features 18 degrees of banking. This is twice as steep as the banking at Indianapolis, which means this is a high-speed passing opportunity.

The average loss in seconds from pitting at Zandvoort. This is above average despite the short pit lane, as there's a 60km/h speed limit in place in the pits.

41.5

The percentage of passes that used DRS at Zandvoort since 2021, with 78 per cent of those passes taking place into Turn One. Given the tight confines of the track, DRS is crucial.