Key events
Lap 9/72 Norris was asked by his team who he thinks they’re racing – Verstappen in first of Russell in third – and in comms, they can’t grasp why they’re not deciding that for him, given their superior access to information.
Lap 8/72 Norris now trails Verstappen by 1.40s but the McLaren has the pace to challenge – in theory. In practise, how does anyone get by the champ?
Lap 7/72 Verstappen continues building as Magnussen, who started from the pit lane, finds himself sliding off the track.
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Verstappen
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Norris
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Russell
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Piastri
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Leclerc
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Perez
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Gasly
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Alonso
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Sainz
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Stroll
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Hulkenberg
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Hamilton
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Tsunoda
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Bottas
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Ricciardo
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Ocon
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Albon
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Sargeant
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Magnussen
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Zhou
Lap 6/72 Verstappen maintains his lead, now at 1.328s, and we see the start again – reaction times are identical but Norris’ wheels spin as the Red bull cuts across into the centre of the track and frankly, that was too easy.
Lap 5/72 Russell, third, 0.850s in front of Piastri, is allowing Leclerc and Perez to close on fourth spot. Piastri will be raging he was passed off the start.
Lap 4/72 Perez goes at Leclerc, the gap between fifth and sixth 0.870s; Leclerc holds on.
Lap 3/72 Verstappen now leads by 1.709s and does this already feel like a definitive lead? He’s well out of DRS range, and having led for 186 out of the 211 laps he’d raced on this circuit before today, he’ll feel confident of seeing this out.
Lap 2/72 Gasly also started well, up from 10th to 7th, while Perez is down from fifth to sixth … and Hamilton moves past Tsunoda into 12th!
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Verstappen
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Norris
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Russell
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Piastri
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Leclerc
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Perez
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Gasly
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Alonso
Lap 1/72 Ahahahaha! Verstappen diddles Norris off the start, burning in front as his rival’s wheels spin, and Russell nips in front of Piastri too! Dreadful start for McLaren!
…lights out and away we go!
And we’re set…
Our formation lap is under way.
It’s a hot atmosphere, with a lot of orange. Hamilton will start on softs, so is presumably following a two-stop strategy.
Our race will be over 72 laps, each with two DRS zones.
Norris thinks he’s got good plans but won’t reveal what they are. Not long till we find out!
Verstappen thinks it’ll be a difficult race in which it’s tricky to pass Norris, but he’s mainly concerned about his own pace.
Apparently it’s the oldest anthem in operation, dating back to 1626.
Anthem time! A youth clad in all black, overcoat and baggy trouser included, sings along.
Brundle corners Horner, who thinks Red Bull can win but that the wind will be a factor. My sense is he’s confident…
Just live for you…
Jack Doohan, son of motorbike champ Mick Doohan, takes over from Ocon at Alpine next term, and he tells Martin Brundle that he’s honoured to be selected, citing his dad as his inspiration. He seems a good boy.
Logan Sargeant is happy following a big turnaround last night – he crashed his car yesterday, which then caught fire. His team couldn’t repair it; he’ll start from the back of the grid.
Lewis Hamilton, by the way.
There was huge disappointment, too, for Lewis Hamilton who was knocked out in Q2 and finished in 12th place. On his final lap, Hamilton had a very poor first sector, struggling with tyre temperature that proved costly and he dropped three-tenths. It was a deficit he could not overcome and was enough to push him out of the top 10. Worse was to follow, however, when he was given a three-place grid penalty almost four hours after qualifying, for impeding Sergio Pérez during the session, relegating the British driver to 14th after Alex Albon was dropped from eighth to 20th. George Russell was in fourth with Red Bull’s Pérez in fifth.
Worth your time:
The corners on this course are pretty steeply banked, which should give drivers a fun challenge. It might help them generate pace before overtaking, but that remains to be seen.
Two stops or one? It’s not clear what we’ll see today, nor which tyres will work best. If Verstappen gets in front early, it might not matter – or at least it might not be relevant as regards who wins the race. But if Norris keeps ahead, the tactical battle could well be crucial.
Get in the mood:
Also going on:
Ave a word wiv im!
Verstappen tells Sky it’s great to see the support he has, which puts a big smile on his face … and, er, that’s it. Great stuff!
Fair dos, this looks exceedingly comfy.
Back to our race, Verstappen has won his home race the last three times it’s been held. He’s under pressure to do so again, but expectation can be self-fulfilling.
Every time I see the name Esteban, I think of this legend.
The grid
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Lando Norris (McLaren)
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Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
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Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
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George Russell (Mercedes)
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Sergio Pérez (Red Bull)
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Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
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Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
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Alex Albon (Williams)
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Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
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Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
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Carlos Sainz Jr (Ferrari)
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Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
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Yuki Tsunoda (RB)
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Niko Hülkenberg (Haas)
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Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
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Daniel Ricciardo (RB)
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Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
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Valtteri Bottas (Kick Sauber)
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Zhou Guanyu (Kick Sauber)
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Logan Sargeant (Williams)
Preamble
It’s been 22 hours and 63 days since you took your love away Max Verstappen won a Grand Prix. Not words anyone supposed to type, nor was the local hero able to secure pole for his home race – that honour was won by Lando Norris – and it might just be that his years of domination are over.
Might, because how on earth can anyone say that when Verstappen leads the standings by a princely 78 points? No one would be surprised to see him win today, as he did when behind Norris on the grid in Spain – the last time he took the chequered flag – but if he cannot, the suspicion will grow that, though he might be in sufficient credit to see out a fourth straight driver championship, the F1 landscape is changing.
First, though, comes today’s return after the summer break, and a chance for someone to lay down a marker for the denouement. Norris blamed a poor start for Verstappen passing him in Barcelona, and given the difficulty of overtaking on the Circuit Zandvoort, will know he must get away well here. And if he does, who knows where this season might yet take us?
Lights out: 3pm local, 2pm BST
