During a long and intense Formula 1 season, the summer break is something of a necessary evil: we don’t want it, but we do need it. And having recently returned from our two-week holidays, we’re certainly feeling the benefits, touching down in Zandvoort refreshed and ready to go once again.

However, the surroundings aren’t all that different, as we’ve traded one beach for another - although we’ve ditched our deck chairs, buckets, and spades. Instead, the team has picked their tools back up and restarted their laptops ahead of another crucial weekend.

In fact, with just 10 rounds of the weekend to go, every weekend from now on can be seen as vital to our Championship bids.

Ahead of the return to racing, we caught up with Lando, Oscar and Andrea Stella. We’ve also recapped our most recent race in Hungary and detailed all you need to know about the Circuit Zandvoort.

“I'm excited to be back racing after two weeks away. I'm feeling fresh and coming back ready to have a strong second half of the season.

“The atmosphere at the Dutch Grand Prix is always mega. Last year here was special, so I’m hyped to be returning. We're competitive, and ready to continue where we left off, so I'm confident I'll be fighting out front again.”

“I feel energised and fresh after a short break and some high-quality training work ahead of the last 10 races. I’m fully prepared for the second half of the season and excited to get back racing and go after more race wins.

“The first half of the season was overwhelmingly positive. The team have done an awesome job with the car and it’s great to be leading the Drivers’ Championship standings. I relish the challenge ahead, starting with Zandvoort."

“After two weeks of summer shutdown, we return with the final European double-header of the season. It's great to return to Zandvoort for the Dutch Grand Prix. It’s a quick circuit which can pose some technical challenges due to its nature, and the competition will continue to be strong at the front of the grid. We also look forward to seeing all our fans there, who always bring a vibrant atmosphere.

“We’re now heading into a very busy part of the season, with the final 10 races. We remain focused on ourselves, continuing the hard work from the first half of the season an aiming for more consistent results.”

Why we love the Dutch Grand Prix

We’re obsessed with the banked corners at Zandvoort.

Our counterparts at Arrow McLaren are no strangers to banked corners, which are commonplace in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, where they regularly race on oval tracks, but they’re a rarity in modern F1, where we race on a combination of road courses and city tracks.

Zandvoort is unique in this aspect, presenting drivers with a different set of challenges to tackle. The Dutch circuit’s banking peaks in two places, firstly at Turn 3 and then again at the final corner, both of which are around 18 degrees - roughly double that of the banking at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

 

How steep is the banking at Zandvoort? 🧗

Yes.#DutchGP 🇳🇱 pic.twitter.com/A6OTfaJbP1

— McLaren (@McLarenF1) August 24, 2023

Banked corners are interesting in part because they change F1’s traditional racing line, providing drivers with different options: they could take a tighter apex or run higher up the banking to carry more speed.

It also increases the stress on the tyres. F1 cars are designed to race on relatively flat circuits, and their tyres are purposefully devised to degrade over the course of a race. The higher forces when racing on banked corners not only increase tyre wear but also spread it unevenly, given that the car is cornering at an angle.

Additionally, drivers have to contend with higher vertical G-forces on entry and exit. This not only impacts them physically but also means braking points, steering, and balance are harder to judge and makes mistakes harder to correct due to the extra forces on them.

It also poses various setup questions for the team, as the banking requires more downforce than the narrow and winding sections of the circuit – and teams can’t have both.

What are the challenges?

Despite the banked final corner, which is taken flat-out and effectively increases the circuit’s main straight, overtaking still isn’t easy at Zandvoort. The potential for rain can increase the likelihood of overtaking, but on a dry Sunday, it’s difficult to make a pass here.

The best overtaking opportunity is at Turn 1, following the final banked corner, but you need a bigger performance advantage to get a move done on the opening corner than at many circuits.

For this reason, teams will have a choice when it comes to their setups, and many will opt to prioritise Qualifying over the race, given the importance of a driver’s starting position. In which case, degradation becomes less of a factor, as teams will want their cars to run as quickly as possible over one lap, rather than setting their cars up to run as long as possible.

However, one thing teams will need to consider before locking in their setups is the pit lane in Zandvoort, which is longer and slower (the speed limit is 20km/h slow than the standard 80km/h) than at many tracks. This increases the loss of time teams encounter when pitting and could make tyre preservation more important, if teams want to opt for a one-stop strategy.

The season so far

We achieved a historic 200th Formula 1 Grand Prix win last time out in Hungary, as Lando and Oscar finished in the top two positions for the fourth race in a row. Lando’s win was his fifth of the season, one fewer than Oscar, who won the previous races in Belgium.

The pair head into the second half of the season having helped us to a 299-point lead in the Constructors’ Championship. With 10 rounds remaining, just nine points separate them in the Drivers’ Championship.

The fit

While we hate to admit it, we are slowly entering the tail end of summer, but that doesn’t mean we’re ready to pack away our beach fits just yet, especially this weekend, as we head to the coastal town of Zandvoort.

For this week’s fit, we’re starting with the white I Heart McLaren T-shirt as a base, paired with New Era shorts for a relaxed vibe. Up top, make a statement with Lando’s bold Silverstone tapered bucket hat, and finish the look with Oscar’s understated SunGod Renegades. Perfect for seaside strolls and cheering us on trackside.