|F1 2022 Dutch GP| race analysis:
Verstappen takes fourth straight victory in action-packed race at Zandvoort
Verstappen heading to the Italian Grand Prix in stunning form
World drivers championship leader Max Verstappen took his fourth Formula One race in succession at an action-packed Dutch Grand Prix as he continues to edge ever closer to another world title.
During a chaotic race which saw a late safety car close the pack together with less than ten laps to go, Verstappen overtook Lewis Hamilton on the restart to claim the 30th race victory of his career so far.
Even though he didnāt have it all his own way around Zandvoort, Max Verstappen powered through to claim another vital win at the Dutch Grand Prix ā his fourth in-a-row as he closes in on a second successive world drivers championship title.
Now sat 109 points clear of Charles Leclerc at the top of the standings, Verstappen heads to the Italian Grand Prix next weekend in scintillating form.
This time around in Zandvoort he had led from pole position for much of the race before Lewis Hamilton assumed the lead due to a late safety car.
With the home crowd on edge, the Dutchman got the perfect exit off the final corner after the safety car restart to retake the lead heading into corner one which he held until the end of the race to send the majority of the 109,000 spectators at the event into raptures.
MAX VERSTAPPEN WINS AT ZANDVOORT!!!
What an incredible race that was! šµ
Russell takes second place with Leclerc finishing third#DutchGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/NO0f0nJjss
ā Formula 1 (@F1) September 4, 2022
READ: THE AERODYNAMICS OF A F1 REAR WING ā CFD EXPLAINED IN MOTORSPORT
Mixed emotions for Mercedes
Second place is far more than Russell would have been expecting after Perezās spin grounded him to sixth on the grid in qualifying and Russell deserves great credit for making it happen.
It was he who overruled his Mercedes team and boldly made the call to pit and concede second place to Verstappen. This switch to the soft tyres gave him far superior grip to his team-mate who he easily cast aside ā albeit via nearly running into the back of Hamilton such was his pace advantage.
Hamilton had too solid a weekend to end up off the podium, but heās been on the other end of the vagaries of VSC/SC timing enough in his career to the point where itās hard to feel this was that big an injustice.
On another note, though, while the radio messages that followed didnāt exactly cover Hamilton in glory, he said the exact right things with a cooler head after the race ā something the Mercedes rank-and-file are likely to appreciate, regardless of what Toto Wolff said about the teamās āvomit bag on an aeroplaneā role.
Lewis is FUMING with Mercedes š³ pic.twitter.com/ot9zqNEmFn
ā ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) September 4, 2022
READ: WHAT IS CASTER ANGLE?
CARLOS SAINZ AND FERRARI
Both sides dropped the ball here, although Ferrari did it in a much more spectacular fashion.
From the shocking rushed first pitstop to the unsafe release that left Sainz lobbying desperately ā and not very convincingly ā on the radio, the race on the Spaniardās side was not executed well in the least.
But he was also just not very fast at all, suffering with overheating and a difficult rear end, and sinking like a bag of stones in the first stint versus a much faster Leclerc on a day on which the Ferrari package anyway just didnāt look good.
Ferrari customer teams Alfa Romeo and Haas are getting far too familiar with our losers category in recent times.
For the fifth (Alfa) and fourth (Haas) consecutive race weekend neither team scored points nor got anywhere close.
Haas never stood much chance after a slow pitstop for Schumacher dropped him well adrift of the points fight and an opening lap excursion made Magnussenās already long odds even longer.
Alfa suffered yet more reliability woes with Valtteri Bottas stopping on track while Zhou Guanyu finished down in 16th place.
READ: HOW F1 DRS WORKS?
Race results ā after the race:Ā Dutch GP F1 2022
Binotto explains bizarre Ferrari strategy
AlthoughĀ VerstappenĀ andĀ Red BullĀ are running away with both titles, Binotto says the Scuderia remain focused on winning as many races as possible from now until the end of the season.
With a trip to Monza next on the calendar, the team principal is hoping the Tifosi will lift the spirits atĀ FerrariĀ and propel them to a strong result.
READ: WHAT IS CASTER ANGLE?
Binotto:
āWe still are looking for victories and our intention is to try to win at each single race and that includes Monza,ā
āItās certainly a difficult moment right now, because we are not getting the results, at least in terms of the expectations we have, but we need to react.
āAt Monza we will have our Tifosi there after COVID. Itās great to have our Tifosi there in the grandstands, and that will be important for us because they will certainly cheer for us and boost us as a team, which we need [in order] to find some good results, as well as for the spirit and the mood.ā
READ: WHAT IS PORPOISING F1 EXPLAINED
Do you remember what Binotto said after race in France?
Binotto: āIn Hungary and Dutch for the doubleā
Read the full interview here!!!
The mistake is so sensational that the social networks have gone mad and jokingly make fun of Ferrari, like the picture below.
READ:Ā DOWNFORCE AND GROUND EFFECT EXPLAINED
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F1 2022Ā Dutch GP World Championship points
After 15 roundsā¦ #DutchGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/aZ2K7nWAfU
ā Formula 1 (@F1) September 4, 2022
Mercedes close the gap to Ferrari š#DutchGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/ZJ9qgSUlPv
ā Formula 1 (@F1) September 4, 2022