Fernando masters the conditions to take P2Fernando masters the conditions to take P2
2023 season
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.
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
- 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.
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."
Insight and Speed
Powered by How
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.
Unlocking the Lap
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.
Cloud Report
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
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.
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