20 August 2024 12:50 (UTC)
"Hopefully, we can continue where we left off and continue bringing the fight for wins and podiums"
It's time to kickstart the second half of the season with a party on the Dutch coastline. After a brief but much-needed break from racing, we’re itching to return to action and excited to be doing it by the beach, surrounded by Zandvoort’s beautiful white sandy shores.
Known for its party-like atmosphere, the Dutch Grand Prix is an ideal way to dust off the cobwebs. Plus, outside of the actual racing, there’s no better incentive for a Formula 1 driver than fresh, homemade stroopwafels.
On their return to the factory this week, we asked Lando, Oscar, and Team Principal Andrea Stella for their thoughts ahead of the race. We’ve also compiled a guide to the circuit, a look back at the season so far and another F1-themed icebreaker.
“We’re back! I had a great time over summer break. It’s always good to take some time off and focus on spending time with family and friends. I feel refreshed and ready for the final 10 races of the year.
“I’m looking forward to the Dutch Grand Prix. It’s a good race to start the second half of the season. There are always a lot of fans in the crowd who bring a great atmosphere to be a part of. It’s also a fun circuit to drive. Hopefully, we can continue where we left off and continue bringing the fight for wins and podiums.”
“I’m excited to get back on track. It was great to take my mind off racing and relax, but I’m now ready to get back into action and take on the second half of the season.
“I was really happy with my driving before the break and it was good to get the win in Hungary and second place in Spa. I’m looking forward to getting back in the car in Zandvoort as it’s always a good race weekend, especially with cool characteristics like the steep banking. I’ll be working hard to keep on improving my position in the championship.”
"With two weeks of shutdown over, we now return to racing with renewed energy. The Dutch fans always create a great atmosphere, which we can't wait to experience once again. Zandvoort is a short, technical circuit, which poses a very different challenge to Spa or Monza.
"This weekend marks the start of a very busy period, with four races in five weeks. To ensure we maximise the opportunities ahead of us, we must be resilient, focused and work together closely as a team to extract maximum performance.”
Fans will rightly point to Zandvoort’s famous banking as the circuit’s defining feature, but before we get onto that, there are many other notable sections of this high-octane 14-corner circuit.
Starting with the run down to Turn 1, better known as Tarzan. Tarzan is a sweeping 180-degree hairpin that takes cars left and then right through Gerlach and straight into the circuit’s next notable corner: Hugenholtbocht, a banked hairpin. All three turns provide overtaking opportunities at the start of the lap, coming off the back of a DRS zone down the main straight.
Overtaking outside of that section can be tricky, admittedly, given the track’s narrow nature, but it’s a thrill ride nonetheless, with cars taken up and down in a rollercoaster-like nature through twists and turns.
It’s also interesting from a strategic perspective, as the short pit lane gives teams the choice of multiple pit stops.
Ohh, and of course, there’s the banking… The renowned final corner is 18 degrees - roughly double that of the banking at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway - which allows a car to maintain higher speeds while cornering and makes for a stunning sight.
We’ll be looking to pick up where we left off when we return to racing, having gone into the summer break on the back of 11 podiums in 10 rounds, including a win each for Lando and Oscar.
With 10 races remaining, we’re in the hunt for the Constructors’ Championship, sitting second - our highest championship position since Round 2 of the 2020 season - with a 42-point gap to first place. We’re also performing strongly in the Drivers’ Championship, with Lando in second on 199 points and Oscar in fourth on 167.
F1 is full of specialist slang and complicated jargon that can stump even the most avid of fans, which is why we’ll be explaining common F1 terminology ahead of each grand prix this season. This week, it’s the brake bias – also known as brake balance.
All four wheels on a Formula 1 car have brakes, and these can be adjusted so that more force is applied to the front or the rear brakes - i.e. your brakes can be biased towards the front tyres, or they can be biased toward the rear.
Unlike many setup choices with an F1 car, the driver can change this throughout the race to suit the car’s handling, depending on the type of corner being taken and as the car's weight, balance, and tyre performance change during the race.
It’s a tricky balancing act - if the brakes are overly biased towards the front, then the car will struggle to turn, but if they are overly biased towards the rear, then the car could spin.
In dry conditions, drivers will opt for more brake pressure on the front of the car – roughly a 55/45 or 60/40 split, depending on the above factors. Whereas, in wet conditions, drivers will opt for more brake pressure on the rear to prevent the brakes from locking up.
Stuck for conversation with your F1-loving friends? Spark up a discussion with our F1 icebreaker…
Niki Lauda’s Dutch Grand Prix win in 1985 was his final victory in Formula 1. In the same race, his teammate Alain Prost set a new lap record of 1m16.538s, which stood until the race returned in 2021 after a 30-year hiatus.
There’s no better way to get back in the mood than by pulling on your favourite piece from our collection, and given that we’re heading to the Netherlands, it simply has to be papaya. We’d suggest our teamwear is the best way to go – brightly coloured, stand out, and easily identifiable as McLaren.
