Verstappen won on F1’s return to Zandvoort in 2021, with most of the grid having pre-Formula 1 experience at the track. Here’s everything you need to know about each driver’s history at the Dutch Grand Prix.
🇳🇱 Max Verstappen
Max Verstappen delighted his home fans at the 2021 Dutch Grand Prix, winning the race from pole position. He became the first Dutch driver to win his home Grand Prix. Prior to F1, Verstappen won the Masters of F3 event at Zandvoort in 2014, having qualified in pole position. You can expect the partisan crowd to be willing him on to do the same at the 2022 Dutch Grand Prix.
🇲🇽 Sergio Perez
Sergio Perez was disappointingly knocked out in Q1 at the 2021 Dutch Grand Prix. He fought back to eighth place in the race. Perez previously raced at Zandvoort in the Formula BMW ADAC series in 2005 and 2006. He was successful at the two races at the circuit in 2006, finishing in fifth and third.
🇬🇧 Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton suffered a power failure in Free Practice 2 at the 2021 Dutch Grand Prix, putting him out of the Friday afternoon session. He went on to qualify on the front row and finish as runner-up to Max Verstappen. Prior to 2021, Hamilton last raced at Zandvoort in 2005, when he won the Masters of F3 race. He finished six seconds ahead of Adrian Sutil. He had finished seventh in the previous year’s event. Hamilton also raced here in the Formula 3 Euro Series in 2004 and 2005. He finished on the podium in the first of the two races at the 2004 meeting, and won the second race in 2005.
🇬🇧 George Russell
George Russell crashed out of qualifying in Q2 at last year’s Dutch Grand Prix. Nevertheless, he qualified in eleventh place. He failed to finish the race, retiring with gearbox issues just three laps from the end of the race. Russell raced at Zandvoort in F3 in 2015 and 2016. He finished in the top six in all three races in 2015, and finished in the top ten in all of 2016’s three races. Russell also took part in the Masters of F3 race in 2015, in which he finished as runner-up to Antonio Giovinazzi.
🇲🇨 Charles Leclerc
Charles Leclerc finished where he started at Zandvoort last year, in fifth place. Leclerc previously contested three races at Zandvoort in the 2015 Formula 3 European Championship. He finished a best of fifth in the first race of the meeting. He retired from the second race after a big crash following contact with Lance Stroll. Though he was cleared to race, there was concern that his car would not be able to be fixed in time for the next day’s final race. In the end it was, and he finished tenth.
🇪🇸 Carlos Sainz
Carlos Sainz crashed out in Free Practice 3 at the 2021 Dutch Grand Prix. Despite that, Sainz still reached Q3, qualifying in sixth place. He lost one place in the race, finishing in seventh place. Sainz previously raced at Zandvoort in the 2010 Formula BMW Europe season, the 2011 Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup and the 2012 FIA Formula 3 European Championship. Sainz won two races here in 2011 in Formula Renault. He also appeared at the circuit in the Masters of F3 event in 2012. After qualifying second, the Spaniard finished the race in fourth place.
🇦🇺 Daniel Ricciardo
Unlike his team-mate, Daniel Ricciardo reached Q3 at last year’s Dutch Grand Prix. After qualifying in tenth place, Ricciardo went on to finish behind his team-mate in eleventh. Ricciardo has not been particularly lucky at Zandvoort in the past. The Australian retired from the Masters of F3 event at the circuit in 2009. He appeared here in 2018 as part of a Red Bull media event, alongside Max Verstappen and David Coulthard.
🇬🇧 Lando Norris
Lando Norris failed to reach Q3 at last year’s Dutch Grand Prix, qualifying only thirteenth. He went on to score a single point, finishing in tenth place. Norris raced at Zandvoort in Formula 3 in 2017. It was a successful weekend for the Brit, winning two races and scoring a podium finish in the other. Norris went on to win the F3 title that year.
🇪🇸 Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso recorded a top six result at last year’s Dutch Grand Prix. He was out-qualified by his team-mate but set the ninth fastest time in Q3.
🇫🇷 Esteban Ocon
Esteban Ocon qualified one position ahead of his team-mate at last year’s Dutch Grand Prix in eighth place. He went on to finish the race in ninth. Ocon last raced at Zandvoort in DTM in 2016. It was his final appearance in the series before joining the Manor team to race in Formula 1.
🇫🇷 Pierre Gasly
Pierre Gasly qualified on the second row for last year’s Dutch Grand Prix and went on to finish in fourth place. Gasly previously drove an RB7 around the circuit alongside Max Verstappen at a Red Bull event in May 2019.
🇯🇵 Yuki Tsunoda
Yuki Tsunoda reached Q2 at last year’s Dutch Grand Prix, qualifying in fifteenth place. Tsunoda failed to finish the race, suffering a power unit failure after 48 laps. It was the Japanese driver’s first race experience at Zandvoort.
🇩🇪 Sebastian Vettel
An engine failure for Sebastian Vettel in Free Practice 1 at last year’s Dutch Grand Prix caused a 37 minute long red flag period. He was eliminated in Q1, qualifying in seventeenth place after encountering traffic from the Haas drivers on his final flying lap. He went on to finish thirteenth. Vettel raced in the Masters of F3 race twice, in 2005 and 2006. He finished eleventh in 2005 and finished sixth in 2006. He also raced here in the Formula 3 Euro Series, and of the four races he finished as runner-up three times, including finishing as runner-up to future F1 rival Lewis Hamilton in the second race in 2005.
🇨🇦 Lance Stroll
Lance Stroll finished where he started, in twelfth place, in last year’s Dutch Grand Prix. Stroll has previously won at Zandvoort, taking victory in the first race of the weekend at the track in Formula 3 in 2016. Stroll was stripped of pole for the second and third races as his car had suspension irregularities. He also appeared at the circuit in the same series in 2015.
🇹🇭 Alex Albon
Alex Albon last raced at Zandvoort in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship in 2015. From the three races, he recorded three top eight results, with a best finish of fourth.
🇨🇦 Nicholas Latifi
Nicholas Latifi brought out the red flags with a crash in Q2 at last year’s Dutch Grand Prix. After qualifying in fourteenth place, he subsequently started from the pit lane. He went on to finish the race in sixteenth place. Latifi raced at Zandvoort in 2013. He appeared here in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship with Carlin. In the three races, he recorded a best result of eighth in the first event. He finished eleventh in the second race and retired from the final race. He also took part in the Masters of Formula 3 race at the track in 2013, where he finished seventh.
🇫🇮 Valtteri Bottas
Valtteri Bottas finished on the podium at last year’s Dutch Grand Prix. He finished where he started, in third place. Bottas says he has “many good memories” of Zandvoort. He became the first driver to win the Masters of F3 race twice, with back-to-back wins in 2009 and 2010. In addition, Bottas raced at the track in 2009 in the Formula 3 Euro Series with ART Grand Prix, where he finished as runner-up in the second race of the meeting. He also finished as runner-up in the first race of the 2010 meeting.
🇨🇳 Zhou Guanyu
Zhou Guanyu last raced at Zandvoort in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship in 2018. He competed here in that series in every year between 2016 to 2018. On his last visit here, he recorded a podium finish in all three races.
🇩🇪 Mick Schumacher
Mick Schumacher qualified on the back row for the 2021 Dutch Grand Prix. He went on to finish eighteenth and three laps down on the race leaders. Schumacher has plenty of experience at Zandvoort. He has raced here in ADAC Formula 4 in 2016 in which he scored two podium finishes and in Formula 3 in 2017 and 2018. From his six F3 races here, he finished on the podium only once, with third place in the first race of the 2018 meeting.
🇩🇰 Kevin Magnussen
This will be Kevin Magnussen’s first F1 outing at Zandvoort. He last raced at the track in 2011, in the Masters of Formula 3 event, where he finished third with Carlin.
