2021 Dutch Grand Prix Report

After Sebastian Vettel's Aston Martin brokedown and became unsafe to handle, Lewis Hamilton narrowly won a very short morning session. The reigning champion was then plagued by car problems, and came to a grinding halt three laps into the afternoon session due to an engine problem.

This will severely hamper his preparations for a new circuit.

Ferraris look strong, as they did on tight tracks and twisty tracks. They could even charge the front row.

Max Verstappen fought through everything Mercedes tried to throw at him to win the home grand prix, much to the delight and delight of a sea orange.

Red Bull was slightly faster over the weekend, at least in Verstappen's hands. However, it was Verstappen who secured pole position on Saturday.

After a difficult weekend in which Lewis Hamilton missed nearly all of Practice 2 due to an engine problem, Hamilton was impressively within 0.03 seconds of his title rival. However, the margin should have been greater as Verstappen's DRS failed to open after Verstappen had already missed fifth gear earlier in lap 1.

It was a story of strategy on Sunday as soon as the Dutchman had completed the flight to the first corner.

Sergio Perez, the Red Bull's other Red Bull driver, was caught in Q1 and would start from the back. Mercedes could then use two-versus-one tactics.

They tried to capitalize, bringing Hamilton in to try an undercut, while Valtteri bottas, their teammate, ran long on a one stop. Verstappen caught the Finn in his Mercedes and he made it as wide as possible. However, he was unable stop him from sailing past after just one lap.

Mercedes tried to undercut Hamilton once again and pulled the trigger on lap 39. However, it was poorly executed. The reigning champion emerged into traffic, and Verstappen was able to cover him.

It was easy sailing from there for the home favorite and car number 44 finally gave up the chase for the fastest lap.

Verstappen is now three points clear in the title battle standings ahead of the season's second sprint qualifying weekend at Monza. It is a track that should favor the Silver Arrows. How often has the script been followed this season?

TOUGH WEEKEND MCLAREN

Pierre Gasly, who was behind the most popular podium trio of all-time, once again excelled at the AlphaTauri. He backed up his fourth place in qualifying with an impressive race that was both lonely and flawless.

He was followed by the Ferraris finishing fifth and seventh. This was split by Fernando Alonso who made sure his tyre performance was perfect to pass Carlos Sainz at the end of the lap. They now have an 11.5-point advantage over McLaren in this Constructors’ Championship.

Although the crowd was wall-to-wall orange it didn't go according to plan for the papaya team from the Netherlands.

Lando Norris was not able to keep up with the pace of the race and was caught by Williams crashes in Q2. He finished 13th on the grid. Daniel Ricciardo, his teammate, made it to Q3, but only managed 10th. After almost not starting the race at all he struggled for pace throughout it.

Norris did a great job on his first stint and captured the Honey Badger at the end. Although Norris was allowed to pass by team orders, he would have to battle the recovering Perez for the last place.

Monza will offer them a great chance to bounce back quickly. They are known for their straight-line skills this season, and may even be able to mix it with the big boys next weekend at Temple of Speed.