Dutch GP
First and foremost, I am posting this on the day Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, passed away. Regardless of feelings towards the monarchy, the Royal Family, and the Queen, this is a historical moment that I would be remiss if I didn’t mention it. May she rest in peace.
Race 15 Summary
September 4, 2022
NOW- The Dutch GP had a lot going on, but sadly it wasn’t the racing… I’m mixing it up this week, and changing up my format slightly, so I hope you enjoy!
LIGHTS OUT AND EARLY LAPS
If you’re wondering, or you forgot- this was the starting order for the Dutch GP (and their starting tire compound).
P1 - Max (soft)
P2 - Charles (soft)
P3 - Carlos (soft)
P4 - Lewis (medium)
P5 - Sergio (soft)
P6 - George (medium)
All season long, Mercedes has struggled with tire warm up, but have found to struggle less with degradation than other teams. I was definitely nervous at the start, as start on the slower compounds have often caused Mercedes trouble this season. Despite this, Hamilton was able to hold on to his starting position, after having the door closed on him by Sainz, causing the two to touch. Overall little to no damage was sustained by Hamilton, and he was able to continue on in P4. Russell lost a place to Norris but quickly made it up, and began to challenge Perez. The fact that the 2 Mercedes Drivers were able to basically hold on to their starting positions, when every other driver would have to pit before them, was playing nicely into their hands. AND, because the W13 has leas degradation, that means they could go even longer. Their strategy from the start was a 1 stop, and the tires were cooperating, and the drivers were doing a great job.
PIT STOPS
Mercedes, in a miracle of all miracles, had two really great pit stops when it was time to put their drivers on hards. I mean a 2.6 and a 2.8 or something? That’s brilliant for Merc! The commentators were continuously saying that Mercedes was looking good for the win, and not just a win, a 1-2 at the home of the Orange Army. It was a good day to be silver, not gold… until it wasn’t.
THE VIRTUAL SAFETY CAR
I really want to do this justice, so in this paragraph I will explain (as logically and factually as possible) what happened, before I give my opinions (which I absolutely will).
After pitting, Yuki Tsunoda pulled off the track after complaining that his tires didn’t feel fitted properly. Obviously, if that ever happens, it is extremely unsafe, so he pulled off. At that time, he unfastened his seat belt assuming he would have to retire from the race. However, it is important to note that while he was pulled off the track, his car was still running (indicating that he wasn’t committed to retiring the car). While he was idling, Race Control only had yellow flags for the sector where he was sitting (no Virtual or Full Safety car).
His team, which is the Red Bull B-Team, informed him that everything was fine. He reversed the car back on track (without refastening his seat belts because there is no room in the cockpit to do so), and drove extremely slowly around track to limp to the pits. While in the pits, his team worked to refasten his seat belt, and put on a new set of tires. At this point he was plum last. He slowly pulled away from the pits, seemingly uncertain behind the wheel of his car, and drove half a lap before being instructed to pull off somewhere safe. Once he pulled off again, Race Control had no choice but to deploy a Virtual Safety Car.
At this point, Merc had all the momentum stripped away from them. All hope was not lost, but their hopes of a 1 stop (which would have likely given them the win) were gone. Max Verstappen at this time was far enough ahead that he could pit and still come out ahead of both Mercedes, because of the neutralized speed of all cars on track. Max had to pit again, because there was no chance his medium tires could make it to the end, and he was VERY fortunate to have this opportunity.
Merc actually made a great call to respond, double stacking their 2 drivers in the pits to put on fresh mediums, while Verstappen would be on hards. The pit stops were rather smooth for Mercedes (which is a relief after they have botched the double stack previously), and the 2 drivers didn’t lose position because Leclerc had pitted under green conditions a lap or so before.
So it was Max in P1, Lewis in P2, and George in P3, and the race was on. However, the biggest downside to a VSC (other than Max only losing 12 seconds as opposed to 18 at this track), is that the cars aren’t truly bunched up like with a full safety car, and Green racing conditions can happen at any point on the track. This limited Mercedes ability to get an early jump on Verstappen, as they were still about 10-12 seconds behind him once racing resumed.
THE SAFETY CAR
Ugh, Ferrari Power Units strike again! Valterri Bottas’s PU went out on the main straight, leaving him in a very compromised position right before turn 1. It took (in my opinion) WAY TOO LONG for race control to call out the safety car. Because Valterri was parked at the beginning of sector 1, the yellow flags were waving just before you got to his car. This meant that when Sainz, and 2 other cars were speeding down the straight with DRS as Sainz was attempting an overtake on an Alpine, he came far too close for comfort to Valterri’s car (which could have been a disaster and tragedy). Fortunately, none of those drivers lost control of their cars, and safely continued past him. Then Race Control waved yellow flags for sectors 1 and 3, meant that cars had to slow down all the way down the main straight, but Bottas was still stranded. He couldn’t get out of the car without a safety car, which meant he was a sitting duck.
Once the safety car was finally called out on track, Red Bull pitted Max immediately for new softs, giving up track position to Hamilton and Russell. Mercedes now had a choice- pit them both, and lose track position, pit neither and fight to defend track position or pit 1 driver.
MERCEDES STRATEGY
This isn’t the first time that Mercedes has struggled to react under safety car conditions (even with their drivers trying to optimize the strategy). The team seems to never think that a safety car would happen, often leaving their drivers vulnerable to aggressive teams like Red Bull.
It’s interesting to me that Red Bull didn’t even hesitate to bring Max in. They had so much confidence that he would be able to overtake if Mercedes didn’t pit, that they felt confident enough to make him lose 2 positions. I have my strong feelings about RB, and my suspicions of their integrity (which I’ll be letting out very soon), but Red Bull always plays to win- not trying not to lose. It’s a different mentality than can lead to aggressive driving tactics, but also some gutsy strategy calls. They have complete trust in Max (maybe even too much), that they always trust him to go out and get the W.
Mercedes just doesn’t react the same. They could have attempted to pit both, and told Lewis to give it his all, but that a double podium would be fine. Lewis has no idea what’s going on behind him. Everyone except for Perez pitted for soft tires, INCLUDING his teammate George Russell. Interestingly enough, it was George’s request to go on softs, as he was feeling vulnerable to an attack from behind. He’s thinking- how can I give myself the best chance for my race (which is what every driver does). The team honored his request, pitting him, which dropped him behind Max. This now left Hamilton in the same position that George was feeling vulnerable in, but Lewis had already passed the pits.
Here’s the main issue: Mercedes (who’s used to being in a championship battle), is constantly thinking about how they can secure maximum points. If any other midfield team (Alpine, McLaren, etc…) would have been in Hamilton’s position (lead car pits giving you track position, with your teammate behind you)- they would have kept both cars out and defended like hell. Would Max still have been able to pass both before the checkered flag? Yeah, probably, but there was a chance that he would waste too much time battling the 2nd driver. Look at Ocon’s win in Hungary last year.
If Mercedes doesn’t car about P2 in the constructors (which Toto Wolff admitted doesn’t matter to them), then the only logical thing would be to keep both drivers out on mediums and fight like hell. If you lose grid positions- even if it’s a 3-4 finish for the team, you know you went for the win (which is the main thing you’re hoping for this season).
If Mercedes is trying to beat Ferrari, and secure P2 in the constructors (which doesn’t seem to be a priority at the moment), then pitting BOTH drivers for maximum points of P2 and P3 would have been the call. The main issue is that the two drivers had different goals and strategies in mind (Hamilton win and Russell not lose more positions), and the team was caught on their heels. I think in hindsight, the only option would have been to keep/put both drivers on the same tires and be confident in whatever outcome they could secure.
George had every right to think aggressively and try to give himself the best opportunity. Ideally, the drivers aren’t having to make those calls, and the team is being proactive. Either telling Russell to hold position, we’re going for a Hamilton win (which I have no doubt Russell would have been happy if that were the outcome), or pit both drivers.
I’m repeating myself, but it’s baffling. To be completely fair- with how many laps were left, and how much Max had, there was a good chance that he could have passed both. Ultimately, still a great haul of points and another podium for the team. It’s time they put on their “midfield team trying to secure a surprise win” cap rather than “championship leading team can play it safe” cap- it’s time to take it off for the season.
THE CONTROVERSY
Oh boy, I thought I’d only have to write this section header once, but alas… Here’s where I’m going to share my opinions on Red Bull, and the Tsunoda situation. Full disclosure, this is all speculation and my interpretation of what happened, and there will be some spicy opinions of Red Bull Racing shared here.
Soooo I’ve already described what unfolded, but what could have been going on? I’ve seen several people say that once a safety car wasn’t initially called out, Tsunoda had to keep going to try again. Bizarrely, in his post race interview, Tsunoda said it wasn’t his tires or his seat belt that were the issue but that the team looked at the data, saw something wrong, and told him to stop. As I said earlier, Alpha Tauri is owned by Red Bull Racing, and Helmut Marko, has final say of what goes on with that team. While Ferrari and Mercedes both have consumer teams who use their engines, neither have a true 2nd team on the grid. This means that at anytime, RBR has 4 cars at their disposal. On a larger scale, the fact that this is allowed to happen is a travesty and completely unfair.
We’ve seen it time and time again where they are told not to race Max, and yield to him immediately (giving him 2 less cars to overtake on pure pace and talent). Additionally, there were some (including Sky Sports commentator Paul DiResta) who thought that RB would have the two AT drivers take engine penalties and start them from the pit lane. Everyone (including myself) thought there was no way (and no need) as Max Verstappen was driving a literal rocket ship last weekend. Surely enough, overnight, AT had to replace parts while the cars were in Parc Fermmé (aka no working on car), meaning that both cars, who were supposed to start in front of Max, were now out of his way and in the pit lane.
Tsunoda pulling off is unlucky, yes… But also extremely suspicious. In the days following the GP it was revealed that the issue was caused by a broken differential (which is rare in F1). Oh what could have been… For what it’s worth- Yuki Tsunoda received a reprimand for driver with his seatbelt not securely fastened (after he bizarrely decided to loosen the belts rather than unclip them and get out). This is his 5th reprimand this season, which means he gets a 10 place grid penalty.
One final note: I absolutely think it’s possible something fishy went down with Red Bull and Alpha Tauri, but I do not encourage hate towards Yuki, or anyone involved with Red Bull. This situation is not a way for you to mask your deep seeded prejudices as something “reasonable”. Tensions run high, but let’s not spew hateful and inflammatory rhetoric, okay?
FAVE CREATORS
Quickstop F1: Dutch GP Review. “This week, Nyasha and Thandie are joined by everyone's favourite F1 news and analysis account Deni aka @FIAgirly to break down an eventful Dutch GP that saw TeamLH so close to celebrating a Lewis victory. We also discuss Mercedes' strategy, conspiracy theories and we ask whether Mattia Binotto is the worst Team Principle on the grid?”
Brad Philpot: Dutch GP Questions Answered.
Sir Lewis Hamilton, who is still on the hunt for his first win of the season, and another for the record books, is expected to take an engine penalty this weekend, as his Power Unit from Spa is not salvageable. Fortunately (if there is a silver lining in this), it seems like several other drivers will also be taking some sort of grid penalty (the last number I’ve seen is 7), so he’ll be in good company at the “Temple of Speed”.